The Generation
by Pernshinigami
Summary: Animorphs Crossover War Princess Judin was trapped on Earth and in Human Morph, what is the connection to the Blade Breakers? Can Cassie and Rei unravel the mystery? Yaoi warning OWARI
1. Default Chapter

The Generation  
  
Prologue  
  
~notes~  
  
Okay, here is the deal. When I start to get feedback on my last fic, a Yugioh fic, then I will continue with it. If I do not get feedback on this fic I will dump it. Yes, I am that desperate for reviews. I will also have Ax read the disclaimer...  
  
Ax: Nyassa does not own Beyblades. She does not own the Animorphs, she wishes that she did, because she has been following the series religiously since she saw the first volume in the book order in fifth grade. She also vows to someday turn Animorphs into an Anime series and own the series that way. However, she does not find this very likely to happen anytime soon. Nyassa also does not own U2 which, she adds, is the favorite band of the actor who played Tobias in the pitiful excuse that calls itself an Animorphs TV show. Nyassa also disclaims any sexual connotations derived from this statement. It is her profound hope that she will get to peg Visser 3 with an Ooka Melon. Now, she says, on with the fanfic.   
  
~Judin Olarn Sorath~  
  
My ruined fighter tumbled through zero space. But what could I do? Power had failed, gravity had failed. I couldn't get to the engine controls! But why not just fall? We had lost the Hork Bajir world. Our greatest failure. And my Prince, Alloran, had released a quantum virus on the Hork Bajir world. Such horrible disgrace. As his superior I would most certainly be blamed.   
  
Then I heard something that chilled me to the bone. //Zero Space engine failure in five minutes and counting.//   
  
OH NO! I fought, struggling for ground. I couldn't let it end that way! I couldn't! I hit the bulkhead at the far end of the fighter. I kicked! //YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!// I screamed.  
  
But I made it to the panel. //Bring us out of Zero space!// I shouted. //I don't care where! Just let me out! GET ME OUT OF HERE!//  
  
//Leaving Zero Space now.// The computer said.   
  
To my infinite relief the tiny fighter emerged into the blackness of space. I was tumbling headlong into the atmosphere of a planet, but planets weren't so bad. I could fix the communications equipment, I could call my little brother Elfangor, and my parents, and everyone back home and tell them that I was alright.   
  
And love is not the easy thing   
  
The only baggage you can bring...   
  
And love is not the easy thing...   
  
The only baggage you can bring   
  
Is all that you can't leave behind   
  
I hit the atmosphere with a small, whumph noise. The hull screamed across the sky, heading towards an area filled with mountains. //Oh little brother, if only you could see this.// I whispered, awed at the land of sky and mountain and sea.   
  
The land drew closer, closer. With serenity, I curled up against the bulkhead, bracing for the crash. WHAM!!! Everything went black.   
  
When I woke at last, it was about midday. I reached up towards the control panel. //Computer, respond! Damage report!//  
  
//Zero space engines offline,// The computer began. //Normal space engines offline,//  
  
So far so good.  
  
//Weapons systems online, Navigation malfunction, navigation offline, communications offline.//  
  
//NO!!// I yelled in frustration. //NO NO NONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!// I howled in mixed anguish, anger and frustration.   
  
And if the darkness is to keep us apart   
  
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off   
  
I left the ship. There was no reason to stay. I packed up everything, put it in a loop of netting, it contained seeds, a shredder, a pakka doll that Elfangor had made for my last birthday, the wishflower I saved from his birth, a holographic picture of my family, extra cartridges, and an escafil device. I wrapped it up in the cloth commonly used for scoops, tied the bundle, and carried it over my shoulder. As I left my dear ship, I felt my heart breaking. I couldn't go home. They would think I was dead. I couldn't go home!  
  
And if your glass heart should crack   
  
And for a second you turn back   
  
Oh no, be strong   
  
I traveled for days, then suddenly, in the distance, I saw flashes of light, beams of it! Red, black, blue, A BATTLE! I ran to the spot, tossing my bundle up against a tree. Then I saw what was happening, and I stopped.   
  
These were aliens fighting! But the most ludicrous aliens I had ever seen! They wore skin coverings, robes really. They looked kind of young. They had soft pink skin, and very little hair, except on their heads. Their heads had lots of hair. One of them had long, light blue hair that he had tied back in a pony tail. He wore some kind of armor and a loose cape billowed around his feet. The second human had hair that was slightly shorter, black, and wore some sort of lose robes. He carried something that looked like a double edged blade with a leather handle. The third human wore a baseball hat to cover his short hair. He carried a clipboard and wore some sort of white robe.   
  
"Go easy on it Voltaire!" The third human told the youngest of the three.   
  
"I'M TRYING D!" Voltaire growled in frustration. "Dark Dranzer doesn't listen to me unless I tell him something he wants to hear!"   
  
"Come on! It's a spirit for crying out loud, they don't talk!" The Human named 'D' said, irritated.   
  
I huddled down behind some bushes. Here was an opportune chance to bring my translator chip up to speed.   
  
"Wanna bet on that?" Voltaire growled back.   
  
"Um... dude, why don't we take a break." The second human suggested. "I'm exhausted."   
  
"One more trial!" Voltaire growled. "I know I can get it!"   
  
Walk on, walk on   
  
What you got they can't steal it   
  
No they can't even feel it   
  
As I watched the two humans leveled something that looked suspiciously like a beam weapon at each other. The human Dee took up a position between the two of them. "THREE! TWO! ONE! LET IT RIP!"   
  
"DARK DRANZER!" Voltaire pulled some kind of cord, sending some kind of gyroscopic top shooting out of it.   
  
The second human calmly released his own top. "DRAGOOOOON!" He shouted.   
  
From the tops rose two monstrous creatures. The first was an incredibly graceful bird that shimmered with black and blue fire. It looked almost like a flaming kafit bird, only it didn't have enough wings. The bird screamed in defiance.   
  
From the second top rose some kind of enormous, blue, yellow, and gray, reptilian creature. Despite the fact that it had no wings, it sailed gracefully through the air. The two creatures shot towards each other. With a roar and a scream the two monsters collided, crashed, parted, and crashed again. Blinding lights flashed, sparks flew! It was incredible!   
  
I was so startled, I jumped back against the tree, crashing into the bushes, tripping over my own bundle. The noise crashed loud in my ears.   
  
"COME BACK BOTH OF YOU!" Dee shouted. The beyblades, as I later learned they were called, flew back to their owner's hands.   
  
I was too tangled up to escape. "WOW!" They exclaimed when they saw me. "What are you?" Dee asked.   
  
I shivered, getting slowly to my feet. //I am an andilite, I am War-Princess Judin Olarn Sorath. I was trapped on Earth. I thought there was a battle going on between my people and our enemies, the Yeerks, so I came to investigate.//   
  
I told them my story, and they told me theirs. Over that evening, I made three friends for life.   
  
Walk on, walk on...   
  
Stay safe tonight   
  
They managed to hide me over the next few years. I am very good at hiding. Voltaire provided the money to create a sanctuary in the national forest where I'd crashed. It was underground, and when I combined it with Andilite Hydroponics technology, I was able to grow my garden amidst pillars carved to look like Dark Dranzer and Dragoon entwined. It was a symbol of our friendship. Inside the mouths of the different Dragoon statues, I hid my dearest belongings. But if somebody tried to make Dark Dranzer give up its secrets, he would shoot them with shredders. It was MY sanctuary, and I didn't want anybody in there.   
  
I left a pair of sleeping Kafit bird statues outside the entry to my ship, which was also buried down there. Carved on them was the famous poem, "Until My Eyes Open." It reflected my sadness, my loss, but I tried not to think of it.   
  
Over the next several years, I used the Frolis Manuver to create a human morph. The three friends split up. The human, Dickenson, focused on the science behind these new Beyblades. The second human, Sierran, focused on the sport's more competitive side. I joined Voltaire in his native Moscow to work on developing the social potential of the game of Beyblades. I disguised myself as a human to work with him.   
  
Voltaire started a place called Balkov Abbey. The point was to create a sanctuary for children, especially orphans, who showed empathy with bitbeasts.   
  
Sierran came dancing in to visit one day. "JUDY!" That was my nickname, "I'VE GOT A GRANDSON!"   
  
Sure enough, a baby sat in a "Baby backpack." He had Sierran's black hair, and beautiful cobalt colored eyes.   
  
"What's his name?" I asked.   
  
"His name is Tyson! And he's going to be a world champion someday! You just watch!"   
  
I smiled, a lovely human expression. "I'm sure he will be. Voltaire has a grandson too. His name is Kai, and he's almost a year old already."   
  
"How much time is left in morph?" Sierran whispered.   
  
You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been   
  
A place that has to be believed to be seen   
  
Tyson perked up in his backpack and gurgled. "Kuu!"   
  
"I've got about a half an hour." I told him. "I'll just take this to Voltaire and head down to the basement."   
  
You could have flown away   
  
A singing bird in an open cage   
  
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom   
  
We brought Voltaire a report. "Voltaire, I finished the readout on that new bitbeast. I know enough to suggest a name too, Wolborg, because it appears to be a wolf, with metal..."   
  
The fire alarm went off.  
  
Walk on, walk on   
  
What you've got they can't deny it   
  
Can't sell it, can't buy it   
  
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Voltaire demanded.   
  
The apprentice, Gideon answered him over the radio. "Get the children out! This is Journeman Gideon! We have a fire on level four, get the children out NOW!"   
  
Walk on, walk on   
  
Stay safe tonight   
  
"Where's Kai!" Voltaire demanded. I grabbed three year old Bryan and five year old Robert. "GET OUT OF HERE!"   
  
Ten year old Boris ran past me, coughing, screaming. "BORIS GET DOWN!" I shouted.   
  
"I can't see! My eyes are burned!" Boris protested.   
  
Gideon grabbed him. "I'll get you out, stay down and keep your hand on my shoulder! Voltaire, sir! I found Kai!" He handed Kai to Voltaire. "He got a hold of Dark Dranzer! He started the place on fire with it!"   
  
In his bundles, Kai stared straight ahead. His hands were clenched around Voltaire's beyblade. But it was Kai's eyes that forever burned in my memory. They were no longer their usual chocolate brown. They were red, bright, blood red.   
  
And I know it aches   
  
And your heart it breaks   
  
And you can only take so much   
  
Walk on, walk on   
  
Time! I was running out of time! Fifteen minutes left!  
  
"Tawa!" Robert cried as we ran out into the snow. "Wew Tawa! N' Spenthu?"   
  
I looked, yes, two year old Tala and six year old Spencer were still inside. Gods, I had to get them!  
  
But morph time! I had ten minutes left!  
  
Home... hard to know what it is if you've never had one   
  
Home... I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home   
  
That's where the hurt is   
  
No choice, I ran in, ducking flames. Behind me debris fell. Smoke burned my delicate human eyes. There was no way that I'd be able to push debris out of the way in my andilite body. I had to stay human!  
  
Then I heard it, crying. "TALA!" I shouted at the top of my human voice. "TALA! SPENCER!"   
  
"JUU! JUU!" Tala bawled.   
  
I know it aches   
  
How your heart it breaks   
  
Spencer was shielding Tala under a metal table. Spencer was unconscious, third degree burns covered his body. Tala was trapped under him, crying.   
  
I grabbed both of them under my human arms. "Shh Tala! I've got you!"   
  
"Juuji! Thpen no talkie!" Tala bawled. "Blaa spoth!"   
  
And you can only take so much   
  
Walk on, walk on   
  
Five minutes in morph! A burning beam fell from the ceiling! I rammed it out of the way, feeling the searing pain. Tala screamed in fear, coughed twice and lay still. Smoke burned my lungs! I HAD TO GET OUT!   
  
The door was searing hot, half of it had burned off the hinges. I ran from the burning hellhole.   
  
"TAWAAAAAA!!!!" Robert screamed in fear.   
  
"He's not breathing!" Boris drew back in panic.   
  
Two minutes left in morph.   
  
I had a choice, administer CPR and risk being trapped in morph, or be safe and let Tala die. I remembered Alloran's horrible decision. He had decided to be safe, at the cost of an entire species.   
  
I could not stay safe. Not after what he did.   
  
"come on Tala!" I exclaimed. I took a deep breath, bending down, forcing air into his lungs. In, up out, in, up, out, in, up, out...  
  
One minute. Tala coughed, sputtered, and burst into tears.   
  
I jumped up bolting into the darkness of the Abbey courtyard. DEMORPH! DEMORPH!!! I screamed the command into my own head.   
  
Leave it behind   
  
You've got to leave it behind   
  
Five seconds, four, three, two, one...  
  
My watch went off. No changes... none...  
  
I fell to my knees in the darkness. I screamed in rage and pain. Sweat dripped from my forehead. The only thing that changed was that my burns healed. Where they did, the skin was bare. No blue, no fur.   
  
"Judy!!" Voltaire, Sierran, and Mr. Dickenson were running towards me.  
  
"DEMORPH!" Sierran screamed.   
  
"I can't!" I wailed.   
  
"What do you mean you can't??" Voltaire's eyes were wild in fear.   
  
"I can't! I tried!" I sobbed. "It didn't work! I'm... I'm trapped..." The reality settled on me like a weight. "I... I..." I burst into tears.  
  
All that you fashion   
  
All that you make   
  
The human paramedics came. They took the children away. Boris had to go into the hospital, but the doctor thought that he could construct a mask that would work as well as his old eyes. Spencer had to get skin grafts, but he would recover. Tala was kept overnight for observation. He stayed about a week before the doctor pronounced him fit.   
  
The only parts of me that had demorphed were my eyes and the andilite genes for thoughtspeak and empathy.   
  
All that you build   
  
All that you break   
  
Shell-shocked, I sat in the waiting room at the hospital. "Are you alright?"   
  
The human wore the uniform of a nurse. His hair was dark brown, with matching brown eyes. "I'm sorry, you look absolutely horrible. Want a cup of coffee?"   
  
I smiled weakly. "Yeah, I could sure use one."   
  
All that you measure   
  
All that you steal   
  
Over the next year, I married this nurse. I lived as a human, all the way as a human. There were days that I even began to forget.   
  
All this you can leave behind   
  
All that you reason   
  
I forgot what it felt like to run free under a sky. I forgot what it was like to see in all directions. I forgot the speed of my tail.   
  
All that you sense   
  
All that you speak   
  
Nine months later, I gave birth to my son, my darling, my miracle.   
  
All you dress up   
  
All that you scheme...  
  
His name was....  
  
~notes~   
  
So how does it sound?  
  
V3: It sounds like crap.   
  
(smacks him in face with an ooka melon.) YOU'RE OUT! (imatates JayZ) Oh! You can't hit the unhittable, dodge the undogable!  
  
V3 (wipes alien fruit pieces from his face) I will kill you for that human.   
  
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Hides behind Ax)  
  
Ax: ...? 


	2. New School, new face

The Generation  
  
Chapter 1- Max  
  
First day, new school, boring. It had happened a million times before, and because my mother had to travel a lot, it would probably happen a million times again. The vice principal, Chapman led all four of us blade breakers through twisting, turning hallways.   
  
Tyson, beside me, gulped nervously and then winked in my direction. He had lived in Kyoto all his life, and had never had to transfer. Kai looked completely disinterested. He was used to private schools, and (he had told me last night) preferred them. Rei looked around in interest, eyes round as he looked at everything around him. Chapman had already sent Hillary into another homeroom.   
  
Chapman opened the door immediately to our right. "Mr. Tidwell, a moment please?"   
  
The teacher came out. "Yes Mr. Chapman?"   
  
"I'd like to put the Blade Breakers in your class if you don't mind."   
  
"Go ahead, the more the merrier." The teacher answered.   
  
Mr. Chapman led us to the front of the class. "Class, I have an announcement. You will have four new students today. I am proud to introduce the Blade Breakers, Tyson, Rei, Kai, and Max."   
  
Uproar. "OH WOW!" One girl squeeled.   
  
"It's Kai!"   
  
"Do you think Rei will give me an autograph?"   
  
"I wonder if Tyson can give me any beyblading tips!"   
  
Then a girl with dark skin and short, curly black hair spoke up. "Um... what is a Beyblade?"   
  
Dead silence. Then a Hispanic looking boy next to her cried. "I don't know you Cassie! I don't! I've never seen you before in my life!"   
  
Behind him and too his right a blonde girl smacked Hispanic goofball over the head with the morning newspaper. "Marco! That's rude!"  
  
"But, Rachel how could she NOT know what a Beyblade is?" Marco demanded. "I mean, its easily the most popular game on the planet!"   
  
"I don't really like playing games." Cassie said, sweatdropping.   
  
Marco facefaulted. Rachel dragged him up by the collar and swatted him playfully again.   
  
"Take the seat next to Cassie." Mr. Tidwell told me. "Kai, take the seat in front of Jake. Rei, sit behind Rachel. Tyson sit next to Marco."   
  
"Yeay!" Marco made a muffled cheer. "I get to sit with Tyson I get to sit with Tyson!"   
  
"You're weird." Rachel said, rolling her eyes.   
  
"Hey." I told Cassie, with a friendly smile. "Where do you live? I could teach you the basics of the game after school." I offered.   
  
Cassie blinked. "Oh, sure!"  
  
"Great, I'll bring the whole crew and grab some spare parts from my house." I grinned foolishly.   
  
I did not realize the trouble I was getting into, otherwise I would never have even offered. But most adventures do begin with a few innocent acts.   
  
This time was nothing different.   
  
~notes~  
  
(cornered up a tree by Visser Three and a random psycho mortron) Yeah, I know its short, but its about to get exciting!  
  
V3: I still haven't gotten to kill you human.   
  
AND YOU NEVER WILL YOU HEAR ME?? I'LL NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER! 


	3. The meeting of the minds

The Generation  
  
Chapter 2- Cassie  
  
That afternoon, Ax was hanging out at my place while my mom and dad were out trying to capture a Prewalski's Horse that had escaped from the Gardens. I had just finished grooming the mare that my parents had bought for me. It was a palomino of appaloosa stock it was young, and it was all mine, so I was taking good care of her.   
  
Ax had set some kind of sketchbook down on a stack of haybales and hunkered down. He was bent over it with a quill pen and ink bottle. "Hey Ax, whatcha doin?"   
  
//I am working on a scrap book. Marco suggested that I make one, so I am starting with a family tree.// Ax turned it around for me to have a look. He pointed to each entry in turn. //Here's me, and Elfangor, and Tobias.//  
  
"Who's this?" I asked, pointing to an entry framed in cobalt blue.   
  
//That is my older sister, Judin. She was presumed dead in the retreat from the Hork Bajir world.// He told me.   
  
"How horrible!"   
  
Outside I heard Jake and Marco arguing. "Cubs"  
  
"Red sox!"   
  
"Cubs."  
  
"Red sox!"   
  
"Marco, the last time the cubs won the pennant was the year we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let alone the World Series!"   
  
"And the Redsox haven't made it to the Series since they traded away Babe Ruth in 190-something or other! The law of averages says that they're more likely to make it first!"   
  
"Cassie!" The boys converged on me at once. "Who's more likely to make it to the World Series first? The cubs..."  
  
"Or the Redsox!" Marco interrupted.   
  
"Cassie, in cases like this." Rachel came up behind them with Tobias on her shoulder. "It would be better not to answer."   
  
//I think she is right.// Ax answered.   
  
"Um... why are you all here NOW?" I asked.   
  
//Don't you remember?// Tobias asked. //We have a meeting this afternoon! I found something really cool back in the woods, but there was some kind of force field keeping me back from it. I don't think its Yeerks! But its worth checking out!//  
  
I smacked my forehead with my hand. "Sorry, my mom and dad have been busy trying to corner a Prewalski's horse that got into the National Forest for the past week, so I've been running the place. And its been so busy that I barely get any time to myself, let alone the missions!"   
  
"Wow! You've been running the whole place?" Marco whistled appreciatively.   
  
"Yeah, and you know, it still feels like I'm forgetting something." I tried to think, but with Marco and Jake still glaring daggers at each other it was hard to focus.   
  
Then Tobias' head flew up. //I hear somebody.//  
  
"Are you sure there's anybody here Max?" Tyson was saying.   
  
"Yeah, she said she'd be around."   
  
But it was too late to hide Ax.   
  
"aaaaahhhh!" Tyson screamed.  
  
"eeeeeeee!!!" Rei agreed.   
  
"AAAAA!!!" Kai screeched.   
  
"A monster!" Kenny hid behind Tyson  
  
"A bit beast!" Hilary exclaimed.   
  
"AN ALIEN!" Max shrieked, pointing at Ax.   
  
All four of Ax's eyes swiveled around. //Who? Me?//   
  
"Yes, Alien. Ax, I think you'd better get out of here." Rachel moved in front of Ax, nudging him to go.   
  
"Too late now." Jake said darkly.   
  
"Listen, whatever happens, you can't tell anybody you saw us." I said nervously.   
  
"Why not?" Tyson asked skeptically.   
  
They all looked at me. "Why do I have to tell them?" I asked.   
  
"Because you were the one that invited them here on a meeting day!" Marco growled.   
  
I sighed, and started in on a recitation about everything that we knew about yeerks, Elfangor, Ax, and the current status of the group. I did not mention David. I did not want to mention David, I'd much rather forget him.   
  
Kai listened. I have heard that Kai is the kind of person who does not debate a fact that is right in front of his nose. He also does not take everything at face value. Max stared at Ax the whole time, eyes round in awe. Kenny stayed well behind Tyson. Hillary watched with a skeptical expression. Rei's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head.  
  
"No way." Tyson stepped back.   
  
"Way." I told him.   
  
"Give me proof." Hillary said, skeptically. The others ignored her.   
  
"How do you fight them?" Kai asked. Good boy. He'd make a good Animorph that one.   
  
"Okay, exhibit A." I nodded to Rachel.   
  
Rachel closed her eyes. She sprouted dark brown fur. Her nails began to grow. Rachel's nose turned black and cold. Her face lengthened to become a bear snout. Rachel's ears turned round and furry and slipped up the side of her head. Rachel's hair turned brown and shaggy. Then she began to grow, Rachel's muscles doubled and tripled in size and strength.   
  
Dear, mild mannered Rachel had become a grizzly bear. //Like this.// Rachel said smugly. //Their shock troops, hork bajir, cannot fight me in this body one on one and win. Six on one is another story, but one on one they don't stand a chance.//   
  
Hillary's jaw dropped. Scratch one skeptic.   
  
"You said they enslave us." Kenny said guardedly. "How?"   
  
"They're parasites. They crawl into their ear, wrap around their brains, and control them, every damn neuron."   
  
"But they're only looking for bodies right?" Asked Rei. "I mean, they don't kill people right? It can't be that bad."   
  
Marco snarled. "Cassie, Morph yeerk right now. Show him just how bad it is."   
  
Rei recoiled, but I focused on the Yeerk DNA inside of me.   
  
~Tyson~  
  
What the Hell had Rei said to make Marco so angry. I mean, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Why would had Rei made him so upset?   
  
We watched, in a mixture of disgust, horror, fascination, and awe as Cassie transformed into a three inch long slug. It had four flippers and two antennae. This thing was the so called big bad Yeerks? It didn't look so tough!   
  
Marco picked Cassie up and held her out to Rei. "Put her in your ear. Go on. See what its like!"   
  
"Um..." Rei looked over at us.   
  
That made me angry. Rei's pretty mild mannered. He's got the next highest empathy level in the group aside from Max. He also doesn't have very good self-esteem. I leapt forward. "Now wait just a minute! You can't mess with my team!"   
  
"She's not really a yeerk and she won't hurt him." Jake assured me gravely. "But Marco wants to make a point, for a very good reason."   
  
"Do it Rei." Kai emphasized.   
  
"oookay." Rei picked up Cassie tentatively and held her to his ear.   
  
Nothing happened at first, then Rei cried out in pain "Ow my head! Owowowowowww!" He moaned. Rei fell to his knees, sweating, panting and holding his head.   
  
"Yeah, not nice is it?" Marco snarled. Just what had Rei said to make Marco so hostile?  
  
"Dude just what is your PROBLEM??" I demanded.   
  
"My problems are none of your business!" Marco snapped.  
  
//Easy Rei, I'm almost done.// Cassie told him.   
  
Rei stood up. "Hey, that wasn't so bad."   
  
"Wanna bet on that?" Cassie asked through Rei's mouth.   
  
Rei squeeked, clapping a hand over his mouth. "My voice!"   
  
"Yeah dude." Marco rolled my eyes. "Your voice dude! Its like, totally not yours anymore!"   
  
Cassie chuckled through Rei's mouth. "Actually, if I were really a yeerk, none of him would be." For a moment I thought I could see a sort of, shade Cassie hovering behind Rei. He was not speaking like he normally did, that was for sure.   
  
"And if I were really a yeerk, you would never be able to tell the difference, because I'd have access to everything Rei knows. Yeerks are the best actors in the galaxy. And I'd be able to use that knowledge against each of you. If the yeerks were to get one of you, then they could destroy your team from the inside out at any time." Rei/Cassie said calmly. "Do you see how serious that is? Now do you get it? This isn't a game people!"   
  
Cassie let go of Rei, who jumped about a mile. "YOOOOWWWWW!!!!"   
  
"Yeah, 'yow'!" Rachel sighed. "Typical rookie onamodopia or whatever."   
  
As I watched, the disgusting looking slug that was Cassie slipped out of Rei's ear. Rachel caught Cassie and set her down on the hay bales near where the Alien, Ax or whoever, had been reading.   
  
Cassie grew and twisted, and in about thirty seconds there she was, wearing leggings and a skintight halter-top. Cassie pulled her t-shirt and overalls back on. "I'm sure Marco is sorry that he had to be harsh, but he's got reasons for everything he does. Some of us have loved ones who were taken by the yeerks against their will. So we have good reason to get upset."   
  
Rei nodded, scrubbing at his ear and wincing. "Yeah, ow that hurt."   
  
"Are you alright?" Kai asked, putting an arm around Rei's shoulders.   
  
Now that was unusual. Usually Kai wasn't very affectionate. "Is that how you hide him?" Kai asked, nodding towards Ax.  
  
"You catch on quickly." Marco grinned. "Yes, Ax combined our DNA to create a new human morph."  
  
//Its called Frolis Manuver. Usually its only used when morphing sentient species, so that there's no identity confusion. I thought it was necessary when I needed to pass as a human.// Ax's main eyes were focused on the page, but his stalk eyes were casually scanning the room, rather unnerving.   
  
"But if its genetically specific to these andilites of yours then how can you all do it?" Hillary asked, still skeptical. Ah yes, my grandfather once called her 'The last of the true skeptics.'  
  
"Clever girl." Rachel had demorphed while Cassie was morphing yeerk. "Because it's a piece of biotechnology that adds a whole new type of artificial cell, specialized cells necessary for morphing. If you were to run a blood test you'd find them in our bloodstream."   
  
"Must have been painful." Hillary pushed.   
  
"Not especially." Cassie was rummaging through a trunk. "Here it is. I hid it in my horse tack trunk." She held up an innocent looking sky blue cube, about six inches by six inches by six inches. "Simply press your hands against the cube and it will give you the power."  
  
"And you're revealing this to us for a reason right?" Kai asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.   
  
"Right, because now that you've found us, you have a choice to make." Jake explained.   
  
"What kind of a choice." It was extremely chilling the way Kai and Jake locked eyes. Right then and there. He already knew didn't he? Kai tends to know everything. He's creepy. My heart froze.   
  
"You can choose to fight, or to not and risk being infested." Jake said.   
  
Damn, its creepy the way I can read minds.  
  
~notes~  
  
(shiver, shiver) creepy I know. I like Kai all psycho and creepy. Its fun! But I'm not very good at actually writing him that way. If I had to role play a blade breaker on improv. I'd probably be Max or Rei.   
  
V3: (with six horkbajir behind him looking up at Nyassa in the tree) Whoever you are, come down so I can kill you!  
  
Tobias: (swoops in with Raygun in hand) Nyassa! Catch!  
  
(catches it) thanks, what is it?  
  
Tobias: It's a chibitizer. It changes enemy yeerks into insane chibis, then you knock them down like bowling pins.   
  
Yeaaaaayyyy a chibi rei gun.   
  
Random Yusuke: Um. That's Ray gun, Rei gun is what I use.  
  
Oh right. Okay, here goes! (shoots chibi gun at V3 and Hork Bajir Controllers) Wow, I didn't think Horkbajir or andilite bodies could do that! 


	4. Kitty Rei South Carolina also known as R...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 3- Rei  
  
Okay, I am taking this seriously now. I am taking this very seriously. I do not want yeerks in my head. I really don't. Why do I believe these kids? I think they have no reason to make something up. They don't seem crazy. There's no way that all of these kids could be having the same delusion. And if Cassie morphed a yeerk, and morphing comes from DNA, then there had to be a yeerk somewhere down the line.  
  
Oh, darn.  
  
So here we were, trying to discuss what to do. "I'm for it." Kai said calmly. "But only if everybody agrees."   
  
Kenny thought for a moment. "I'm at least a little bit curious. And it will be a chance for me to contribute something to the group. There are times when I feel left out, like there's nothing I can do because I don't have as much power as you four."   
  
"Hold on there." Hillary said, arms crossed over her chest. "There's something that they're not telling us. If they have this blue box of theirs, then how come they didn't expand their little army before now?"  
  
"Who says they didn't?" I asked.   
  
"Yeah, but where is the so called 'Expansion'?" Tyson asked. "I'm all for it, you know me, always raring to go. But this is much more serious than a tournament. This is more than hostile teams and feral bit beasts. At the world championships, and the battle tower, we'd still walk away and be able to come back and get our bit beasts later. There was always hope if we lost. In this situation, if we lose, we lose more than just our bit beasts."   
  
"Max?" Kai asked. "What's your opinion?"   
  
"I agree with Hillary, I'm for it, but I'd like to know why they didn't use the escafil device before now." Max said. He looked... preoccupied. "Its kind of weird you know?"   
  
"Maybe they didn't want to." Kenny shrugged. "I mean, you know what they say, with power comes responsibility. Maybe they didn't find somebody they thought was responsible enough."  
  
"Tyson, responsible? That's a laugh and a half." Hillary let out a bark of derisive laughter.   
  
"I'm more responsible than you miss 'stupid game with the tops!'" Tyson growled. "I handled my match with Tala alright didn't I? I didn't freak out then did I?"   
  
"I wasn't there, so I don't know." Hillary stuck her nose in the air.   
  
"Okay." Kai said calmly, "Lets put this to a vote. Kenny?"   
  
"I'm for it."  
  
"Tyson?"   
  
"Do you even have to ask?" Tyson asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.   
  
"Rei."   
  
"I follow you Kai, I follow the team." I answered.   
  
"That's not an answer Rei." Kai told me warily. "This isn't just a game."   
  
"I know, but... I want to make up earlier for what I said." I said shyly.   
  
"I'm for it of course." Kai said calmly. "Max?"   
  
Max appeared deep in thought. "I'll go for it." He said slowly. "I've got the most horrible case of de ja vu. This way I can get my answers and actually be useful."   
  
Kai turned back to the waiting Animorphs. "We've agreed. We'll join you."   
  
"GREAT!" Marco rubbed his hands together. He picked up the blue box. "Each of you, press your hands to one end of the cube."   
  
I reached out, tentatively at first, then with more confidence. I touched the cube on the side nearest me. The others followed.   
  
The cube tingled against my hand. I felt something like a shock roll through me, only, pleasurable, not painful. It reminded me of... of the first time I held Driger in my hand, right after the village elder had given him to me. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the feeling. I liked it.   
  
After a moment, Marco pulled the cube away. He handed it to Cassie, who put the cube back in the trunk. "Right then." Cassie said briskly. "We're going to start you on some easy bird of prey morphs. So far we have a peregrine falcon, a cooper's hawk, a golden eagle, and you could also morph Tobias' Redtail body."   
  
"How is that possible?" Kenny asked, looking up nervously at where Tobias perched on a horse stall.   
  
//Because this is now my natural body, so its just like acquiring a normal red tail.// Tobias explained.   
  
"Kai, since you're obviously the leader, you choose first." Jake nodded at him.   
  
"ooookay." Kai said nervously. He looked around at the cages. "I'm tempted by the golden eagle, but its too big, more easily seen. Besides, I'll bet Tyson will pick it, his strategies tend to rely on power." He looked around. "How 'bout the Peregrine Falcon? I'll bet it's about as fast, and more agile."   
  
Jake nodded. "I have a peregrine falcon morph. They're really fast, but only in a dive." He nodded to Cassie, who opened the cage.   
  
Kai stepped forward. "do I just... pet it?"   
  
"Focus on the morph." Cassie told him. "You know you're doing something right when the animal goes into a trance. Sometimes they don't, but trust me, you'll know when you've acquired it."   
  
Kai stroked the falcon's head. His eyes were closed in concentration. Sure enough, the falcon held still, hunkering down in the cage. Kai withdrew his hand, looking at it curiously.   
  
"Rei? Wanna choose next?" Marco asked.   
  
"Um... the golden eagle."   
  
The Animorphs all facefaulted. //Any reason in particular?// Tobias asked, recovering his balance.   
  
"Well, most of my strategies have relied on endurance. And if the Peregrine falcon is fast in a dive because of its small size, then a golden eagle, with bigger wings must be fast in level flight, and have more endurance than the others. Therefore, its consistent with my strategic preferences." I paused, shyly. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked.   
  
Jake sighed and shook his head. Rachel chuckled softly. And Marco... why was he glaring at me like that? "I ask again, did I choose wrong?"   
  
"Nope." Jake chuckled. "Not wrong at all."   
  
The eagle glared at me as I reached my hand into the cage. My hand trembled as I placed it on the eagle's back. I closed my eyes, focusing on the animal in front of me. The eagle continued to glare. As I pulled back, our eyes met. Contrary to what some people think, animals are very expressive. That eagle was the very depth of power. It scared me.   
  
Deep down, it really scared me.   
  
I pulled away, feeling rather like I'd just picked up Pandora's box. "Why do I get the feeling that I just acquired Pandora's box?"   
  
//I could have warned you.// Tobias told me. //Golden Eagles are naaaaa-sty! Be careful of the instincts, they're more powerful than other birds of prey.//   
  
"Tyson?" Jake asked, moving on.   
  
"hmmm..." Tyson looked from Tobias, to the Eagle, to Tobias. "Can I acquire two birds of prey? I like the golden eagle, but Tobias just looks cooler."   
  
Rachel burst out laughing, so did Marco. "Go ahead." Cassie said with a smile. "In fact, there are times when you'll need the eagle's power. Visser three, the Yeerk general, has a bird of prey morph called a kafit. Its got six wings. We barely got away from it, but if we'd had our bird of prey morphs then we'd probably have beaten him. And then there are the Helmacrons..."   
  
"The what?" Tyson asked, confused.   
  
"Never mind." Rachel rolled her eyes. "But it does come in handy to have more than one bird morph."   
  
"I'll take your word for it." Tyson said, as Tobias landed on his shoulder. He closed his eyes. After about five seconds, Tobias flew back up to the rafters. Tyson then focused his attention on the golden eagle. Cassie opened the cage for him. The golden eagle hissed. Tyson jumped back.   
  
Cassie sighed and threw a frozen dead mouse into the cage. Trilling happily, the eagle turned to his meal, ignoring Tyson as he acquired it. "That thing is temperamental, but it isn't so bad if its being fed."  
  
Tyson sweatdropped. "No kidding."   
  
"Your turn Max." Cassie said , nodding politely in his direction.   
  
"Ooo-kay." Max looked from one to the other. "Umm... I'll pick the Red Tail." He said thoughtfully. Tobias sailed down once again.   
  
//He's gentle. Red tail it is.// Tobias murmured as Max acquired him.   
  
"And you Kenny?" Cassie asked.   
  
"um... normally I'd pick the Golden eagle. But we have too many of them already, and I know its only making up for my dislike of being vertically challenged, so that would be selfish of me..." He looked around for something different. "Um... what's that?" He pointed to a bird of prey in a slightly larger cage over to our right.   
  
Tobias looked around. //It's a Harris hawk, they're known for their agility and they're pretty smart too.// We gathered around to look.   
  
"Looks like it was beaten up pretty badly." Marco observed. "Cassie, why didn't you tell us about this guy?"   
  
"It didn't occur to me. This guy isn't going back to the wild. He lost an eye and half of his wing when he was hit by a car." Cassie explained.   
  
"Will I still be able to fly?" Kenny asked, anxiously.   
  
"Sure, the hawk's DNA wasn't injured, just a wing." Rachel said encouragingly. "Morphing heals injuries, both ones that occur while you're in morph, and ones that occur while you're human, cause otherwise we wouldn't be standing here now."   
  
Kenny smiled, encouraged. He reached out a hand to the Harris Hawk. The hawk trilled softly in its throat, bobbing its head at Kenny. The hawk held still while Kenny acquired it.   
  
Finally, it was Hillary's turn. "I want the Cooper's Hawk, its soooo cute!" She squealed.   
  
The cooper's hawk turned to look at her with something close to disdain, until Hillary stroked its head. The bird let out a soft croon and closed its eyes. It stayed down for about ten seconds after Hillary acquired it and then turned to her and began glaring again.   
  
"So what do we do now?" Kai asked, looking at Jake, whom he'd probably identified as the leader.   
  
"Now, you get to morph for the first time. Any volunteers?" Jake asked.   
  
"I'll go!" I said determinedly. "I want to make up for what I said."   
  
"Right then, when you've morphed and gotten control of the instincts, you'll follow Tobias around Cassie's farm once, and then come back and land in the barn before demorphing." Jake instructed.   
  
I gulped. "Right." I closed my eyes, focusing on the golden eagle.   
  
Tobias flitted down into a stall. //I think I'll just land in here while you morph. I don't want to be eagle food.//   
  
My nose and mouth began to sprout outward, becoming smaller, harder. I turned and looked in a mirror above the sink in the barn. My eyes had turned from red/gold to amber. My catlike pupils had become smaller, almost to pinpoints. My hands stretched, the bones thinning. Tail feathers jutted out of my body suit, the one that I wear under my robes. My feet melted together like they'd been put in a microwave and stretched, becoming talons. My hair melted into my back, becoming feathers. Feather patterns began to sketch their way up my body and face. They became filled with color, and then with an itching sensation, they turned into real feathers. My bones thinned with a sound like a porch swing creaking in the wind. I heard my insides rearrange with a squelching noise. Then I was falling! Falling! Falling!   
  
I turned, looking in the mirror. I had become a golden eagle. Then I felt the bird's mind, and I realized what the more experienced Animorphs had meant by 'animals' instincts.' The golden eagle was hungry. It wanted food. It was also afraid of the humans nearby. It tried to fly. Trapped! The Eagle was trapped! I began to struggle, panicking!   
  
"Easy Rei, you're just tangled up in your robes." Tyson bent down to pick me up, to untangle me.   
  
//Back human! Trapped, fly! Run!//  
  
//Um... what's going on?//   
  
"Rei lost control of the eagle's instincts."   
  
"How do we get him IN control?"   
  
Noise! Trapped! Fly! Run! Kai bent down to pick me up. I snapped at him. //BACK!//   
  
Kai jumped back, sucking the blood from his finger. "Rei its me, Kai, remember?" Kai asked.   
  
Kai? What was a Kai? I looked up at him through the bird's eyes.   
  
Oh, Kai.   
  
//Um... I think I've got it now. Sorry about your finger Kai.//   
  
"That's alright." Kai picked me up, deftly untangling the robes from my wings. He ran a delicate finger over my head. It tickled. The Golden eagle liked being touched there. Almost like a caress.   
  
//Come on!// Tobias hopped onto Rachel's head. //If we hurry, we can catch some killer thermals!//   
  
//How do I fly?//   
  
//You're an eagle right? The eagle knows.// Tobias chuckled.   
  
//Okay, like... this?// Kai threw me into the air. Tobias sprang into the air after me. Cassie had opened the barn doors for us and I shot out after Tobias.   
  
//Right, follow me straight out into the fields. They've been warmed enough by the sun that I think we'll be able to get an updraft from them.//   
  
Sure enough, rising warm air filled my wings. I powered them up, up UP! It was amazing! It was beautiful! Tobias banked a turn as we gained altitude. I followed him effortlessly. Yes, I had been right. The eagle was all for sailing off into the sunset. No problems with endurance there. I was gaining altitude now. We were over the edge of the forest. I turned, making my way back to the barn. //Um Tobias.//  
  
//Hmm?// Tobias asked blissfully.   
  
//How do we get down?//   
  
//Follow me.// Tobias said, almost like a kid going somewhere they're not allowed.   
  
Tobias folded his wings and dropped, screaming, "TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" //IINNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!//  
  
Just, just drop like that? I let out a mental thoughtspeak gulp. Sure, why not? //yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!// I screamed.   
  
The ground was rushing up at me at about a million miles an hour! It was going to crash! But the eagle was happy, confident, cool. This was just routine for the eagle's instincts.   
  
I blew into the barn doors. I opened my wings.   
  
//NO YOU SILLY...//  
  
I had opened them at the wrong time. I tumbled end over end over end and crashed in the hayloft.   
  
"REI!" Kai cried.   
  
The others were standing over me, looks of concern on their faces. Kai scooped me up into his arms, stroking my head affectionately. "Rei talk to me, are you alright?" Kai seemed somewhat frantic.   
  
//Um... wipe out?// I asked, righting myself.   
  
~notes~  
  
V3: (chibied and running around crazy) AAAHH! I'VE SHRUNK! MY EVILNESS IS RUINED! 


	5. The Exercise

The Generation  
  
Chapter 4- Max  
  
~notes~  
  
Every so often, in order to keep them organized, I will post morph lists for the blade breakers, because I need something to keep track of them all.  
  
Kai: Peregrine Falcon, Doberman Pinscher  
  
Rei: Golden Eagle, Doberman Pinscher  
  
Tyson: Golden Eagle, Red Tailed Hawk, Doberman Pinscher  
  
Max: Red-tailed Hawk, Doberman Pinscher  
  
Kenny: Harris Hawk, Doberman Pinscher  
  
Hillary: Cooper's Hawk, Doberman Pinscer  
  
~Max~  
  
I came into the house that night, with about five minutes to spare before dinner. I was exhausted, tired, and dirty, but oddly enough, I felt satisfied. It was almost as if some part of me had come back. I know that seems crazy.   
  
When I had demorphed, we had learned another embarrassing side to morphing technology...  
  
"A THONG Max?" The other boys drew back in horror.   
  
"Its called a G-string!" The girls shouted at them.   
  
I had blushed and dashed for my overalls. The next day Cassie would help us choose other morphs to practice, since it was Saturday. She also had said that we needed some form of tight clothing to wear under our normal clothes to prevent such embarrassing moments.  
  
"Hi!" Emily grinned, looking way too cheerful. "Where were you all? You're filthy!"   
  
"Went over to a friend's house." Tyson grunted. "She lives on a farm. When we finished teaching her beyblading we got dragged into farm chores."   
  
Michael shook his head. "She huh? Gotta look out for them feminine wiles Tyson."   
  
We were sharing a house with the All-Stars for a few months, since my mother was their coach. It was a three-story condominium. The ground floor had my mother and father's room, the living room, and the kitchen. There were bathrooms in the upper two floors and in the basement. The second floor was ours. I shared a room with Tyson and Kai and Rei shared their room. Hillary and Emily shared a room upstairs. Poor Kenny was rooming with Steve, and the Michael and Eddy shared a room together.   
  
Tyson glared at Michael. "That's not funny."   
  
"I know it is." Michael chuckled. "To be honest Tyson, I can't really picture you in American Gothic, you know, the dour farmer."   
  
Tyson glared at him, but fortunately for Michael, his glare cannot match that of an angry golden eagle. Tyson had had to test both of his morphs. Unlike Rei, he had a much harder time controlling the golden eagle morph. It was odd, I could have sworn I'd had an easier time with morphing than the others. I'll have to ask Cassie tomorrow.   
  
"Max you're filthy!" Mother fussed. "Go wash up, there's dinner in five minutes."   
  
The others went up to wash. Then down we went.   
  
Dinner was delicious, baked chicken, green beans, rice, and something called orzo that mom had picked up at the nearest Safeway. I practically dove into the food, eating with twice my appetite.   
  
"Max are you alright?" Mom asked worriedly.   
  
"Huh?" I asked with my mouth full. I swallowed. "Why do you ask?"   
  
"Because you're eating the way Steve eats Twinkies." Emily said bluntly.   
  
"Hey, you are what you eat." Michael joked.   
  
"I resemble that!" Steve protested. "I'm no Twinkie!"   
  
"You just said that you are, stupid!" Eddy elbowed Steve cheerfully in the ribs.   
  
It was then that I began to wonder. It was like a tiny worm knawing at my insides. My mother, my friends, the All Starz were they... taken? I looked into Emily's eyes, trying to see if there was a yeerk slug behind them. I looked at my mother, trying to see if she were really cowering at the back of her mind, slave to a yeerk in her head. I couldn't trust anybody, my mother, my friends.   
  
But there were people I could trust, my team, still... it was pretty sad. "I'm fine," I said, considerately subdued. "I just worked up an appetite, that's all."   
  
That night, I lay awake in the bed I shared with Tyson. "Hey Tyson?"   
  
"Hmm?" He asked.   
  
"Doesn't it feel... odd to you?" I asked.   
  
"Doesn't what feel odd?" Tyson asked.   
  
"Well, at dinner, I looked at the others, my mother and the All Starz, and I realized that I couldn't trust them, I couldn't trust any of them, because any of them might be a yeerk."   
  
"I suppose we can't. I guess the older Animorphs might have developed ways to tell, why don't we ask them in the morning?" Tyson yawned. I snuggled closer to him, Tyson planted a tender kiss on my lips.   
  
"I suppose." I said softly. I snuggled against Tyson and fell asleep.   
  
I didn't remember much of my dreams that night. But what I did remember scared me.   
  
I dreamed that I was in morph, some indefinable creature. I had claws, I had fangs, I was probably some kind of cat. The All Starz were around me, each one had a gun. The fierce, evil look on their faces told me all I needed to know, they were controllers. Emily raised her hand gun, removed the safety, raised it to my head.   
  
Suddenly... FWAP! FWAP! FWAP! FWAP! My mother stood before me, only... only she wasn't my mother, she was changing, shifting, growing blue fur, extra eyes, a scorpion-like tail.   
  
My mother was becoming an andilite. She hit the All Starz in the side of the head with the flat of the tail blade.   
  
"Mother?" I demanded.   
  
//MAX! I torfed them! They're merely unconscious! Run for it!//   
  
I stood, frozen on the spot. Then suddenly, my mother, the All Starz, all of them dissolved in a wave of shimmering butterflies.   
  
From the depths of the darkness, I heard a deep, rolling laugh. It was a laugh that rolled through my very being, through the very depths of the universe, and the being that laughed reached his/her/its tendrils deep into the fabric of space and time.   
  
MAX! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR! It bellowed, in a voice so deep and rich that it echoed through me, through the darkness, through the entire universe.   
  
I sat up straight in bed on a Saturday morning, sweating and shaking. "Just... just a dream..." I panted.   
  
I stood up and went to the window, opening it on the early summer sunshine. I didn't notice that I'd startled a single butterfly, which flew out into the beautiful summer morning. The butterfly flew up into the sky, up to the morning sun, and was gone.   
  
I was careful to don a morph outfit under my clothes before going downstairs. I figured since I'd been able to morph my t-shirt, then I should just put some bike shorts or leggings under it.   
  
We wolfed breakfast in record time and took the bus to Cassie's farm. "Hi." Jake met us. "We've got a morphing exercise for you." He led us into the barn. A Doberman pinscher was tied on a leash to the nearest cage.   
  
"One of us is a morphed yeerk." He explained, "That infested another one of us. Your job is to morph the pinscher and find it by smell."   
  
I gulped. Well, here was the answer to my question. Tyson nodded, looking suspiciously from one of them to the other. Cassie, Jake, Marco, and Rachel were there. Tobias was perched above. Ax was missing, Ax was probably the morphed Yeerk, where had they gotten the yeerk morph?   
  
I looked over at Kai. His eyes were moving from one of them, to the other, to the next, calculating. "Where did you get the yeerk morph?"   
  
"From me." A kid I didn't know, with brown hair and eyes, stepped forward. "I'm Erek, a chee." He explained. Then Erek's form flickered. Before me stood what looked like a two legged dog made of metal and white plastic. "I spy for the Animorphs, I took on a yeerk to fool the yeerks, but because I am an android, no yeerk can control me."   
  
I took a deep breath, "Is this how you identify a controller?" I asked.   
  
"One of the ways." Jake shrugged. "Tobias uses his spare time to track controllers, yeerk pool entrances, and to find new controllers, and sometimes Erek tips us off. We managed to build up a network of contacts and allies over the past two years of fighting." He explained.   
  
"Right." Kenny was already acquiring the dog. Hillary moved in next. One by one, we acquired the dog.   
  
I closed my eyes, focusing on the dog DNA.   
  
I felt my fingers begin to shrink. My fingernails turned black and hard. My ears became pointed, sliding up the side of my head. I looked in the mirror to see my hair turning black, shortening into fur, and spreading in waves of brown and tan down my body. A tail sprouted out of my butt like a weed. I felt my joints reverse position with a crunching sound. I fell to my hands and knees, which weren't really hands and knees anymore.   
  
I had become a Doberman. Everybody says that Dobermen are vicious dogs. But this Doberman was different. It didn't want to bite anybody. It wanted to play!  
  
Play? But I couldn't waste my time. I had work to do. I took a deep breath... AH THE SMELLS! I realized exactly why Jake had chosen a dog. They had pretty good senses of smell. Hearing was stronger than a human, but not too stronger. There were, however, no colors, which I found disappointing. The hawk had been able to see colors. It was very sensitive to colors. After the dazzling array of hawk eyesight, the dog was kind of disappointing.   
  
Around me, the others were busy getting used to the dog's instincts and senses. Tyson barked happily. //WOW! This is so cool!//  
  
//So its true what they say about dogs being colorblind.// Hillary said sadly, too bad.   
  
//I can even hear the cars out on the road!// Kenny exclaimed.   
  
//Cool!// Rei commented. //I can smell bacon.//  
  
//We're supposed to be sniffing for yeerks, not food.// Kai reminded us.   
  
//Right, down to business.// I agreed.   
  
I walked up to Jake, sniffing. Jake bent down, extending a hand for me to sniff. "So far so good huh?" He asked.   
  
I sniffed. I smelled bacon, and toast, and a half a dozen other dogs, nothing that smelled alien to the dog's nose.   
  
Okay, on to Rachel. "You know I'm not the yeerk right?" She asked. I sniffed her legs, until Rachel bent down on eye level for me to smell better. She reached out and scratched me behind the ears.   
  
I took a deep whiff. Rachel was chewing some kind of mint chewing gum, and I smelled some kind of perfume, heavily worn. I snorted, then sniffed at her face, licking it playfully.   
  
Then I caught the smell. It was faint, very faint beneath the smells of mint and jasmine, but it was there. The dog couldn't identify it, but he could smell it.   
  
Rachel pulled back, turning back to pet Tyson, or I think it was Tyson, who rolled lazily over on his back, paws in the air, to have his stomach scratched.   
  
I moved on to Cassie. "Hey there fella. Whatcha doin here?" I realized what they were doing now. They were pretending that we were ordinary dogs, trying to get us to understand the kind of reactions that we would get from potential human controllers trying to pass as normal.   
  
I yipped in response, jumping up on my hind legs to sniff and lick Cassie's face.   
  
//Knock it off Max.// Kai growled from somewhere in the group.   
  
Cassie smelled faintly of lavender and hay and animal smells, but I checked her smell against Rachel's in my memory. Yup, Rachel was the one.   
  
Marco bent down to scratch my back. "Hiya boy, what are you doing all the way out here?" He asked. I sniffed. Marco had eaten pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast, and he hadn't brushed his teeth either. "You should mind your manners, you might have knocked Cassie down and created a disturbance." He whispered.   
  
I was about to say, 'Okay, I won't,' but I realized that this was part of the test. Not only did we have to find the human controller, but we also had to act like normal dogs. Instead of answering Marco, I let out a soft yip noise.   
  
When we'd finished, we gathered in a circle in front of the group. //Its Rachel.// I stated.   
  
//How can you tell?// Tyson asked.   
  
//I smelled it. And she smelled too strongly too. She must have been chewing Orbit her breath was so strong. And knowing Rachel, she wouldn't normally put on such heavy perfume. You're supposed to wear it light, a spritz on the wrists, or on both sides of your neck, not so much that you reek of it!// I snorted. //But beneath all that perfume, I smelled something alien. The dog couldn't identify it, but I'm almost sure that it's a yeerk.//   
  
Kai nodded. //I smelled it too, it was faint, but it was there.//   
  
Kenny stayed quiet. //I kinda got that impression too, Rachel seemed to be rather energetic yesterday when we met her, but now she seems kind of... subdued.//  
  
//I agree with Max, Rachel's perfume is too strong, but it doesn't hide the yeerk.//  
  
Rei licked his paw daintily. //I did smell something, but to be perfectly honest, I wasn't quite sure what it was.//   
  
//Okay.// Kai said calmly. //So we all agree that it was Rachel?//   
  
We nodded, a strange gesture coming from a group of identical dogs. //Great.// Kai told us. //Demorph, and well answer them.//   
  
I focused on my human form, first the legs, then the arms, then my body. I turned to look in the mirror, pausing the process to see how I looked. I had to chuckle, because while I had the body of a human, I had the head, fur, and tail of a Doberman. I looked kind of like that dog Blitz in a cartoon that I used to watch on TV when I was eight. I focused on the tail sucking into my body, then the fur rolling away to reveal the t-shirt and shorts. Finally, I focused on the snout slowly shrinking inward, melting into a human head and meeting the fur at my nose. I stood in my morph outfit, fully human.   
  
The others were still finishing their morph. Tyson's hair was slowly changing back into fur. Rei still had the front paws and eyes of a dog. Kai's spine was sort of hunched over as his bones crunched back into place. Kenny was retrieving his glasses. Hillary carefully shook her hair back into place.   
  
When we were all human, we turned to face the older Animorphs. "We've figured it out." Kai said, looking at all of us for agreement.   
  
Kai nodded for me to speak. "Its Rachel." I said, my heart seemed to be hammering in nervousness. "Rachel is the controller."   
  
Rachel smiled a wane smile, before holding her hand up to her ear. "You got it." She grinned as she set the morphed slug on the ground. Only the slug was twisting, changing. Then the scorpion tail sprouted, and I knew my hunch had been right, Ax had morphed yeerk in order to test us.   
  
"What made you think it was Rachel?" Jake asked.   
  
"She used too much perfume." Hillary grinned. "That alone was suspicious. But Max smelled the yeerk morph under Rachel's gum and perfume."   
  
"And you managed to stay quiet." Marco nodded. "Did you realize that I was testing that?"   
  
"I did." I answered.   
  
Jake gestured for us to sit. "We tried to mimic the things that we thought controllers would use to cover themselves up. When trying to identify a controller, the only way to tell is by surveillance. Tobias usually tracks any given controller for three days. If they enter a known yeerk pool entrance, then we know they are a real controller, but there are other signs; a yeerk trying to imitate a family or social setting doesn't quite feel right. They don't seem genuine. Then too, there's the smell, that was also how we found Erek, by the lack of smell. If you smell a supposed controller and there's no smell, then its probably one of his people."   
  
Erek nodded. He had taken his human form again. "Yes, holograms cannot mimic smell, so you can identify us easily in dog morph." He explained. Erek took up the dog's leash. "Thanks for everything Jake. Great coffee Cassie. I'll see you around!" He waved goodbye, before leading the Doberman out at a jog. The last of him I heard was, "Come on Doby!"   
  
"Doby?" I asked. "Wasn't there a beanie baby named Doby?"   
  
"Um... can we stay on topic?" Kai asked.   
  
"Right." Jake led us over to a cage. "We're going to take you on a training mission. Tobias has found some kind of secret passageway underground, one that he can't get into. So we'll need two morphs for this. One of them is very similar to the morph you just did actually."   
  
I looked into the cage. A wolf's amber eyes glared back at us. "A wolf?" Tyson asked skeptically.   
  
"Yup," Cassie said proudly. "This is a she-wolf that had been shot. She was pregnant when we found her, but as you can see she's already given birth. We're going to wait until the pups can move around on their own before we let them go."   
  
"A GIRL wolf?" Tyson asked.   
  
"It's the only wolf morph we have available." Rachel explained. "And Jake already has a male wolf morph, if we were to have another male wolf, then they'd fight each other."   
  
"Okay, this is waaaay different." Cassie explained, her hand on the door to the cage. "Wolves are classified as dangerous animals, so when Ax goes in with Tobias, they'll acquire the morph first. When Tobias finishes, you need to go in one by one. When you finish acquiring the wolf, don't break contact until the next person has contact with it. That prolongs the acquiring trance."   
  
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and got ready to acquire the wolf.   
  
~tbc~  
  
Notes: whhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
In case you can't guess, the Elemist was giving Max just the reassurance that he needed! I thought that Max would be the one most affected by the war with the yeerks. He needs to be strong, but he won't be alone!   
  
I hope that you've guessed who Judin is by now, but if you haven't, I'm not going to give it away! 


	6. Until My Eyes Open

The Generation  
  
Notes: I gots reviews! Lots of them... okay I only got two, but here's my answer to them...  
  
Dahu 2004-02-15 2 Signed i loved it ^^ i didn't all understand, because i'm french, but it was fine anyway ^^  
  
That's okay, I don't think they have Animorphs in French, u'll catch on. If you can read enough english you'll probably be able to read the website, just type in the keyword Animorph. I'll just be more careful to explain things from now on... I'll describe a few things for you, just so that you understand them...  
  
Controller- Any creature who is infested with a Yeerk  
  
Time limit, after two hours and one minute in any morph, the morpher in question would be trapped in that body forever, that's what happened to Judin. A trapped Morpher is called a nothlit. Tobias was trapped in a red tailed hawk morph during the first Animorph book. His jobs when not on a mission include surveillance of Yeerk bases, resident messenger for the Animorphs, and teaching new Animorphs how to use bird morphs.   
  
Ax-Full name, Aximili Esgarrouth Isthil. His elder brother, Elfangor Sirenial Shamtul, gave the Animorphs the power to change into any animal who's DNA they could acquire through touch. The Animorphs rescued him from his ship, which had sunk under water. A description of his species, the Andilites, are as follows from the head down. Blue fur, tan skin, stalk eyes with no whites that are emerald green in color, pointed ears, three slits for a nose, no mouth, human like torso, seven fingers, centaur like body, long tail with a blade resembling a scorpion's which can be cracked like a bullwhip faster than human eyes can see. His species speaks in something called thoughtspeak. Anybody who's morphed also speaks in thoughtspeak.   
  
SpiritedRose 2004-02-12 5 Signed E, I love this soo much XD. I know who Judin is, Judy, right?  
  
Anyway, this is a really good fic, I like your style of writing. It's been a while since I've read animorphs actually, I'm going to need to dig my copies out.  
  
Anyway, I'm glad you updated =D  
  
Maybe she is, maybe she ain't, but you just wait until she finds out about Tobias. She thinks that Tobias is an Andilite, and freaks out because she doesn't want Max to know about Andilites, let alone joining the fight against the Yeerks!  
  
Chapter 5- Max  
  
//WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!// Tyson cried as he blew ahead of us.   
  
We were a pack of wolves, following a red tailed hawk through the trees, some pack. Ax had morphed a wolf for the first time along with us, and after a brief struggle with the wolf instincts, we ran off through the woods in pursuit of the entrance to Tobias' cave. We'd already demorphed once to avoid the two hour time limit. I mean, the wolf body was cool enough, but I don't think I'd want to spend the rest of my life in it.   
  
//Here it is!// Tobias told us. //I couldn't get in because there's some kind of panel that you have to press for it to open, I don't have any hands. And I know that it can't be a yeerk pool entrance because I haven't seen anybody coming in or out of it.// He landed and waited while we demorphed.   
  
I walked over to the tree, searching for the panel Tobias described. There, about five and a half feet up the tree, I saw what looked like a line around a knot in the dead tree. I dug my nails in and the knot swung back to reveal a blue, square panel with some kind of insignia etched on it. "Woah." I stated. "cool!"   
  
"Howl, yip maaax!" Kenny protested as his mouth changed shape. "Wait for us! You know we can't morph that fast!"   
  
We had acquired wolf morphs, and just to be safe, we had acquired a bat morph, a 'little brown myotis' as Cassie called it. I'd check the bat morph out later. I waited, slightly impatient, as the other blade breakers demorphed. The Animorphs were already finished.   
  
When they'd finished, we lifted Kenny up on a fallen log near the panel to look. "Any thoughts Dizzy?" He asked, holding up his laptop.   
  
A wolf carrying a laptop had been one of the most bizarre sights I'd ever seen. However, I didn't have the heart to tell Kenny not to bring it, I don't think Kai or Jake had either, because nobody raised protest to Kenny bringing Dizzy along.   
  
"It looks kind of like those security devices we saw while scopeing out the Abbey, try pressing your palm to it." Dizzy suggested.   
  
Kenny stood up on tiptoes. "I can't reach you guys, Tyson, can you give me a leg up?"   
  
"Sure!" Tyson leapt forward. He lifted Kenny up, and Kenny placed his palm flat on the panel.   
  
"YOW!" Kenny's hand drew back. "hey! It burned me!"   
  
"Let me try." Said Rei helpfully. He put his hand to the panel. "HOT HOT HOT!" He snatched it away.   
  
"Allow me." I said, rolling my eyes. I pressed my hand flat against the panel thinking. /Open up, open up we don't mean any harm./   
  
The panel tingled beneath my palm, I was about to draw back, but then the tree began to shiver. The ground began to rumble beneath my feet. Slowly, almost painfully, the tree drew back, leaving an empty hole in the ground. A cylinder of glass rose up from the ground.   
  
Ax gasped, drawing back. //A drop shaft!// He cried. //Tobias, you were right, there was somebody there.//  
  
//I told you.// Tobias said smugly. //The problem is that I couldn't figure out what was down there. It wasn't a Yeerk pool, I was sitting in the trees nearby or in some form or another for a week and I still didn't see anybody coming in or going out.//   
  
"Max, you opened it, you go first." Jake said politely.   
  
"How do I get down?" I asked.   
  
//Close your eyes, and focus on how fast or slow you wish to descend, and what level, if there's more than one.// Ax explained.   
  
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stepped into the drop shaft. /Slowly, slowly, first level, slowly/ I whispered in my head.   
  
I was falling, but I could have sworn there was something beneath my feet, because it didn't seem like I was out of control. Then my feet touched ground, and I stepped out of the shaft and to the side. Then I heard,   
  
THUD "OOF"   
  
THUD "OW"  
  
THUD "EEP"   
  
THUD "OUCH"  
  
THUD "YAH!"   
  
The other blade breakers ended up in a heap at the bottom of the shaft. The older animorphs slid down the shaft like old hands, Ax coming last of all, then Tobias flew down after them and landed in his usual perch on Rachel's shoulder.   
  
"How come you all are so good at this?" Tyson demanded when Marco helped him to his feet.   
  
"Practice." Rachel said, tossing her hair back before extending a hand to Hillary.   
  
Then we heard... //Unauthorized life form detected, unauthorized life form detected, Gleet Biofilter Scanning now...//   
  
The older Animorphs tensed. Jake's teeth were gritted in an apprehensive snarl.   
  
//Species Identified, Human, human, human, human, human, human, human, human, human, human, Red Tailed Hawk, Andilite. Beginning yeerk detection sequence as authorized by War Princess Judin Olarn Sorath, Beyblade Battle Association World Chapion Sierran, Baron Voltaire Hiwatari, and Proffessor Dickenson, President of the Beyblade Battle Association. Yeerk Detection Sequence Completed. Results negative. Beginning Bit beast identification sequence, as Authorized by War Princess Judin Olarn Sorath, Beyblade Battle Association World Champion Sierran, Baron Voltaire Hiwatari, and Professor Dickenson, President of the Beyblade Battle Association. Bitbeast Identification Sequence Completed. Updating computer record databanks.//  
  
We just stared. "Don't move, any of you." Jake warned. The other original Animorphs were equally tense, absolutely still, listening.   
  
//Update complete, Authorization Issued, state your name and title for the record so that a voice print may be registered.//   
  
Jake gulped, and then began hesitantly. "My name is Jake, I am the leader of the Earth Resistance to the Yeerk Empire. We call ourselves the Animorphs."   
  
//Voiceprint registered. Next...//  
  
"My name is Rachel. Jake is my cousin. I am also a member of the Animorphs. My favorite morphs are Grizzly Bear and African Elephant."   
  
//Voiceprint Registered. Next...//   
  
"My name is Cassie. I am a Veterinarian in training who works for the Animorphs"   
  
//Voiceprint Registered. Next...//   
  
"My name is Marco, Technology expert for the Animorphs."   
  
//Voiceprint Registered. Next...//   
  
//My name is Tobias, I am a member of the Animorphs, I am a nothlit who was trapped as a Ret Tailed Hawk.//   
  
//Voiceprint Registered. Next...//  
  
//I am aristh Aximili Esgarrouth Isthil, formerly serving under my elder brother War Prince Elfangor Sirinial Shamtoul, now serving under Prince Jake of the Animorphs.//   
  
//Voiceprint Registered, Next...//  
  
Kai looked towards Jake for encouragement. //Next...// The computer queried.   
  
"I am Kai Hiwatari, Captain of the World Champion Team Blade Breakers and leader of a new subgroup of Animorphs under Jake, My Bit Beast is Dranzer." Kai's tone was hesitant. I didn't blame him, none of us realized what was going on.  
  
//Voiceprint registered, next...//   
  
"My name is Rei, formerly of the White Tiger Clan, now a member of the World Champion Team, the Blade Breakers. I am part of the subgroup of Animorphs lead by Kai and under the command of Jake. My bitbeast is the mascot of the White Tigers Team, Driger."   
  
//Voiceprint Registered, next...//   
  
"My name is Tyson, founder of the World Champion Team Blade Breakers. Member of the Animorphs group lead by Kai. My bitbeast is Dragoon."   
  
Kai glared at Tyson, but the computer didn't seem to notice. //Voiceprint Registered. Next...//   
  
"My name is Kenny, technology expert for the World Champion Team, Blade Breakers. I am also a member of the new group of Animorphs lead by Kai and under the command of Jake."   
  
//Voiceprint registered, next...//  
  
"My name is Hillary, friend of Tyson of the Blade Breakers, member of the team of Animorphs lead by Kai and under the command of Jake. I joined the Blade Breakers after Tyson discovered that I could see Team Saint Shield's invisible bit beast and spot patterns in enemy tactics."   
  
//Voiceprint registered, next...//   
  
My heart was hammering in my chest. "My name is Max, member of the World Champion Team, the Blade Breakers. My mother is the coach of the American Champion Team, the All Starz. I am also a member of the group of Animorphs lead by Kai and under command of Jake. My bit beast is Draciel."   
  
"Max, Tyson, and Kai Hiwatari, your DNA is already on file, samples were contributed by Voltaire, Dickinson, Judy, and Sierran after your birth, please proceed and have a nice day." The computer intoned.   
  
The other blade breakers and I just stared at each other. "What the Hell?" Kai demanded.   
  
"That was close." Marco sighed.   
  
"What was that?" I asked.   
  
//It is a gleet biofilter. It is a sort of DNA scanner and security system. It will destroy any creature who's species is not registered in its Data banks.// Ax explained. //It allowed us to proceed. Why should we not keep going?//  
  
"Yeah..." I said shakily. "Lets check it out."   
  
Lights began to come on in the cave. They were dim at first, but slowly becoming brighter. Suddenly... "WOW!" I exclaimed.   
  
Wow did not even begin to describe the scene.   
  
The cave was held up by painted columns, carved to look like Dragoon and Dark Dranzer entwined. Some of the Dragoons had their mouths open, others closed. An underground stream wound its way through the rocks. Small trees, about the size of the ficus tree that mom had planted in the entry hall in the house, had been planted. These trees had pink leaves and the bark was slightly greener than earth trees. Plants and flowers grew in profusion.   
  
"Its like an enormous underground garden!" Cassie exclaimed.   
  
Ax smiled with his eyes, something only an andilite could do. //Yes, there are therant trees in here. They appear to be at least thirty years old, but look at these three...// He pointed out a group of three trees, bunched together. //These three appear to be the youngest...// He knelt by them, placing a hand on the trunks. Then Ax jumped back.   
  
"What's wrong Ax?" Jake asked.   
  
//They are Garibah, Guide trees. Only the people they are planted for may speak with them.//  
  
"Speak?" Hillary asked.   
  
I felt something, some kind of itching at the back of my mind. It was as if the smallest tree, in the middle of the row, were calling me. I knelt by it.   
  
"Max, I don't think you should..." Rei stepped forward.   
  
"Rei don't..." Kai held him back.   
  
"But... I thought we weren't supposed to touch them..." Rei said, confused.   
  
"Think about it." Jake grinned. "Who did the computer mention when it scanned us?"   
  
"Huh?" The others all looked at him.   
  
Ax laughed. //They were planted for Max, Tyson, and Kai.//   
  
"Great," Tyson joked. "I always wanted a talking tree."   
  
Marco snorted, rolling his eyes.   
  
I placed my hand on the bark. I knew it was stupid though, I mean, I'm a human, theoretically I wouldn't be able to "speak" to the trees.  
  
But to my amazement I felt the tree's mind just... open up! It was almost like a book. The tree didn't speak the way I thought it would, not even in thoughtspeak. It spoke in pictures. "It remembered... a woman coming down here... it had been so long since she'd come. A woman and three men had come down here for the planting ceremony. They had come again only to make sure that it was healthy, and they hadn't returned..." I didn't realize that I'd spoken aloud.   
  
"Max, you are seriously freaking me out." Tyson stated.   
  
"HUH?" I jumped.   
  
"You just talked to a tree!" Tyson sweatdropped.   
  
"Can't you understand it?" I asked, blinking in surprise.  
  
The others facefaulted.   
  
//It is very odd.// Ax said, blinking in surprise. //Only an andilite would be able to speak with a therant tree, with any of our trees. I believe Max, that you are the first non-andilite to be able to speak with them.//   
  
I remembered the dream about my mom. I felt a chill going up my spine. Suddenly fearful, I stood up and backed away from the tree.  
  
"Wait, does that mean that Max isn't human?" Rachel asked.   
  
"I look human..." I said, looking down at my hands. Suddenly, I saw a flash, a flash of a hand covered in blue fur, with too many fingers. I shook my head, trying to force the image out of my mind. Stop it Max, I told myself. "And I've never been able to morph until a few days ago, so how could I not be human?"   
  
Kai looked at me. He knew I wasn't telling him something. See, that was why Kai was our team captain and not Tyson. Kai could see through you. Tyson had the drive, but not the empathy to lead, to understand his team mates.   
  
Jake was studying me as well. I knew he would ask Ax about it later.   
  
Tobias saved me. //Hey you guys! Check this out! When I press this button on the Dragoon statues, it goes like this!// He punched a button on top of one of the statues with a closed mouth. With a soft, K'CHAK noise, Dragoon's jaw hinged open, almost like a vacume seal. Something small and blue fell from its mouth.   
  
Rachel picked it up. "Aren't your princes a little old for dolls Ax?" She asked, handing it to him.   
  
//Oh, it's a pakka doll.// His eyes blinked. //I believe the custom is similar to exchanging friendship bracelets. Brothers, sisters and friends will make a doll of themselves and give it to each other for their birthdays, or when they're leaving on a journey, so that the recipient will always remember what the giver looked like...// Ax broke off. //Oh my gods, I recognize who this is... it's Elfangor! When he was very young! This must have been...// Ax fell to his knees, main and stalk eyes widening in comprehension. //MY SISTER! THIS MUST HAVE BEEN HER CAVE! But then...// Ax bolted to the far end of the cavern. I followed him at a run.   
  
We rounded a corner and saw it. //A ship...// Ax stepped back in surprise. //This is an Andilite fighter!//   
  
I studied the ship. It's main body was a pod, almost a bullet in shape. On either side were short, stubby wings with another round bullet on each that must have been the engines. Sweeping forward was a sort of... scorpion tail shaped structure that must have been the weapons systems.   
  
Then I saw why it was buried underground. The front half of the ship was scorched in places, the nose had been crumpled. One of the engines was hanging off a tumble of wires, and it was torn completely open, exposing some kind of metallic white material. I felt my heart breaking. Whoever this alien had been, he or she was long gone.   
  
Ax knelt by some kind of statue that had been placed at the entrance. He ran his hand over the base. I knelt down next to him.   
  
The others came up behind us. Rachel still had the pakka doll in her hand. "There's some kind of inscription here." I told them.   
  
"Ax, can you read it?" Jake asked.   
  
//Even better Prince Jake. I can recite it. My elder sister, Judin Olarn Sorath wrote it when she was on the Hork Bajir homeworld and sent it in only a few months before her disappearance. It is called, until my eyes open...// He looked over at Jake for permission to translate.   
  
"Go ahead." Cassie said gently, "Read it."   
  
//I am blind  
  
Until there is no war  
  
I am deaf  
  
Until there is no suffering  
  
I am crippled  
  
Until there is harmony  
  
I am dead  
  
Until there is no more sorrow  
  
I will sleep here  
  
Until my eyes open on a free world.//  
  
I shivered. The older animorphs bowed their heads. I felt a tear roll down my cheeks. "This was your sister's place." Cassie looked around at our surroundings.   
  
//Yes, the grass and trees, the high vaulted ceilings, the fighter and andilite artifacts, this could only be an andilite home.// Ax told her.   
  
//And when I opened the first one, I found this.// Tobias dropped a tiny cylinder into Ax's hands.   
  
//View.// Ax commanded.   
  
A holographic picture sprang out of the cylinder, probably the andilite version of a photograph. But when we saw who was depicted, all six of us blade breakers fell to our knees in shock.  
  
Jake's eyes widened when he realized who was depicted. Marco spoke first. "Tomorrow morning, I think its time we asked Mr. Dickinson what he knows about Andilites." 


	7. Dude, you have serious anger management ...

The Generation  
  
Notes: Max is going psycho! Max is going psycho! Lalalalala! Max is going psycho!  
  
If you need definitions or stats for any of the terms, species, or characters, check out the Animorph's Vortex, (use the name as a keyword.)  
  
Chapter 6- Max  
  
The next morning I breezed Marco and Tobias in morph past BBA security in the state headquarters. "Excuse me Madra?" I stopped the youngest apprentice in the hallway.   
  
"Oh! Hi Max!" She grinned, glomping me happily. "If you're looking for your mother, she's busy correlating the most recent data that Kenny sent her."   
  
"Actually, I'm looking for Mr. Dickinson. I promised Marco and Tobias here that I'd introduce them to him."   
  
Madra looked up, scrutinizing Tobias and Marco. "Oh, okay, he's in his office. Follow me!"   
  
Tobias shivered. //Max, Madra is very likely a controller or the daughter of one. Madra is the Yeerk name for moon! Be really carefull!//   
  
I nodded infinitesimally to show that I understood, before following Madra to Mr. Dickinson's office. "Ah Max! And who is this?" He asked.   
  
"Hi Mr. Dickinson. These are Marco and Tobias." Madra closed the door. With his foot, Marco flicked the switch on the soundproofing device that Mr. Dickinson put in all of his offices.   
  
"Mr. Dickinson, nice to meet you." Marco shook his hand. "Quite an honor."   
  
"Why'd you drop by Marco?" Asked Mr. Dickinson.   
  
We'd decided that Tobias and Marco would pretend to be Andilites in Human morph. "We want to ask you about a friend of your's one who was from... out of town." Tobias laid a gentle stress on the words, 'out of town.' "You see, I've traveled for a long time looking for my aunt Judin." Tobias said calmly. "My uncle Aximili showed me a family tree, and she was on it. He told me that Judin had been killed escaping from the Hork Bajir world." Mr. Dickinson's eyes were widening in comprehension and fear. "But then we found an underground chamber with her name on it."   
  
"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." Mr. Dickinson stammered.   
  
"But... Mr. Dickinson, the computer down there had your I.D. on it." Why was he being obtuse? Mr. Dickinson had told us everything before, without hesitation. Why was he being secretive NOW?   
  
He turned eyes, expression closed, on me. "Max, stay out of this. This matter is over your head."   
  
"It's over your head too human." Marco said coldly. "Perhaps Judin told you a little fairy tale about these creatures called Yeerks? Well they're here Mr. Dickinson, on your precious Earth, and one more Andilite could mean the difference between freedom and slavery."   
  
Mr. Dickinson's expression was horrified.   
  
"Well, I guess we're not going to learn anything from him. I suppose we could ask Voltaire, or Tyson's Grandfather." I suggested.   
  
Mr. Dickinson looked down at the ground, expression unreadable. "The andilite in that picture died in a fire shortly before you were born Max. She is unable to help anyone now."   
  
~later~  
  
We made it back to my house and found mother on the phone. "Yes Mr. Dickinson, yes I'll talk to him. NO! I don't want my son involved in this. Thank you for telling me... bye." She hung up.   
  
Then my mother turned a wrathful expression on Tobias and Marco. "What are you doing with my son??" She demanded. "I don't care how far up you are in the Andilite Military I don't want my son involved in a firefight against the yeerks!"   
  
"Mom! This is important stuff! They need me! The other blade breakers are helping!" I pleaded.   
  
Mother pointed a finger at the door. "I don't want to see the two of you near my son again! OUT!" She jabbed her finger at the door.   
  
Marco glared defiantly up at her, but Tobias put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on Marco." He turned around.   
  
I waited until they were gone, then I turned and followed them out. "Where are you going?" Mom demanded.   
  
"To do something you'd never have the guts to do yourself!!" I shouted.   
  
"Maximillian get back here!" Mother shouted.   
  
I ignored her, storming out of the room. I slipped into an alleyway about a block down, morphed, and caught a good headwind all the way to Cassie's farm. I sailed into the loft, demorphed, and climbed down.   
  
The other animorphs and Erek were waiting for me. "I was expecting you." Jake said.   
  
"I figured as much." I grunted. All my life, my mother and I had never had an argument. I wondered absently if this was what family life was like during the civil war. How many children had felt like this as they stormed from their parents house to join the union or confederate armies?   
  
"Listen Max." Tyson came forward. "We don't think that your mother is a controller, but to be sure we're going to have Erek and Tobias pull surveillance over our house for the next three days."   
  
"How's Erek going to fit in?" I asked.   
  
Erek's hologram dissolved, almost like when a bit beast is called back to their beyblade. Then another hologram built itself up in the same way. I gasped.   
  
I was staring at a perfect replica of me! "Because she is not a dog, your mother will not be able to tell the difference, and it leaves you free to practice morphing and work on unlocking the computer in the grotto." Erek explained. He was using my voice!   
  
I looked over at Jake with a gulp. "Do I have a choice in the matter?"  
  
"Nope." Kai answered for him. "We can't risk you being infested, and personally, I think Judy has no right to pull you out of the fight, not with the stakes so high. You work on that computer, we'll work on the security."   
  
I nodded. "Okay...okay then." I gulped. It felt like lying to my mother. She already knew some of what I was doing, if she knew that I was morphing... but she wouldn't. She wouldn't learn any more of what I was up to.   
  
I felt sick. But then Marco rubbed his hands together. "Okay boys, girls, aliens and assorted wildlife, Rachel..."   
  
"LETS DO IT!" Rachel pumped her fist in the air.   
  
"LETS DO IT!" We echoed.   
  
Cassie lent me a sleeping bag, and that night Ax let me ride him out to his scoop. My eyes widened when I saw it.   
  
The scoop was open air. It was almost like a tiny bowl carved out of the ground. The southern half of the scoop was covered by a tarp to make a sort of open tent. In here Ax had jury-rigged a computer and the power to run it. Pictures of various foods were taped to the desk that the computer stood on.   
  
//Cassie brought you some food for dinner. I'm sorry that its just fast food. Rachel said she'd come by with Mc Donald's in the morning.// Ax told me as I rolled out my sleeping bag.  
  
"Thanks." I told him, opening the bag. It contained a supersized Big Mac meal. Morphing made me hungy. I tore into the burger.   
  
As I ate, Ax studied me. //Max, I've been meaning to ask you, can you control the way you morph?//  
  
I paused. "Sort of. I mean, when I morphed the hawk and the wolf, I just concentrated on morphing my arms and head first, then my legs and body." I took another big bite out of the hamburger.   
  
//Ah. You are an estreen, that explains it.//  
  
I swallowed. "What's an estreen?" I asked.   
  
//A person who can control their ability to morph is an estreen.// Ax explained. //Cassie is one. She's the fastest morpher of the original group of Animorphs, and she is very good at controlling animal instincts.//   
  
I took another bite. "Cool." Now I knew another andilite word. I felt like, like I was bringing back a memory that I'd forgotten with every morph, every word of Andilite that I learned.  
  
I went to bed with an almost rosy feeling. I snuggled into the sleeping bag, and I dreamed...  
  
I was walking through a forest, with a tiny andilite child at my side. //Judin! Judin!// The child tugged at my arm. //Where are we going?//  
  
//This morning Elfangor, I will teach you your first ritual.// I said with a smile. //I'll be leaving soon to go to the Hork Bajir world, so mom said that you and I could have the whole day together. And then tomorrow it will be the four of us, but mother is preparing a surprise for tomorrow.//  
  
//Oh Wow!// My brother's eyes widened, eye stalks straight in a gesture of eagerness.   
  
//Here we are.// I stopped by a stream. //Now we wait for sunup.// I told him.   
  
I turned and watched the horizon for the sunrise. There it was, the tiny crescent of gold peeking over the horizon. //Right, Elfangor, do as I do...// I dipped a hoof in the water. //From the water that gave birth to us...//  
  
//From the water that gave birth to us...//  
  
I crushed a tuft of grass under my feet. //From the grass that feeds us...//  
  
//From the grass that feeds us...//  
  
//For the freedom that unites us.// I spread my arms wide.   
  
//For the freedom that unites us...//  
  
//We rise to the stars.// I turned all for eyes upward.   
  
I took on a fighting stance. //Freedom is my only guide, obedience to my prince my only glory.//  
  
I delicately placed my tail blade at my throat. //I Judin Olarn Sorath, Andilite Princess, offer my life.//   
  
I went limp.   
  
Wait a minute! Tail blade? Humans didn't have that!   
  
I looked down at my limbs.   
  
I had four legs!   
  
I looked at my hands.   
  
I had too many fingers!   
  
I looked down at my face in the water and screamed. I was human, but as I watched, my reflection began to change, change into an andilite about Ax's age, but the facial features were different enough so that I knew that I wasn't morphing Ax. My reflection grinned back at me as it morphed, and just before my/its mouth disappeared, it said, "LOOK BENEATH THE SURFACE!"  
  
I sat up straight in the moonlight, shaking and sweating. //Are you alright?// Ax asked.   
  
"I'm... I'm fine." I lied. I was so afraid, afraid of the dream. Then I remembered what my mother had once said, 'People are often afraid of the truth.' Was this dream the truth?  
  
I shook my head in confusion. "Ax, I thought you were on watch."   
  
//Rachel is keeping an eye on things now.// Ax explained.   
  
"Do you think she'd mind if I joined her?" I asked.   
  
//If you are not tired, an extra guard could only do good.// He agreed.   
  
I ran through the woods, not morphing, just running. The wind whipped my hair, but I could not outrun the phantom sound of hooves drumming on the earth. Ax was not coming with me, so I knew that I was hearing things. All the time my brain screamed, /why, Why, WHY??/ As far as I could tell, none of the other Blade Breakers were having nightmares about their best friends turning into controllers. None of the others had dreams where their parents turned into an alien, or where they had turned into an alien. None of them dreamed about laughing butterflies. Why was I so special?   
  
Then I remembered something that Tyson had said to Jake yesterday. "Max has always had strange powers. I mean, Kai is weaker concerning evil bitbeasts, but his empathy rating isn't as high as Max's."   
  
Suddenly, "HURAOOOOOWR!" A grizzly bear rose up out of the bushes.   
  
I screamed.   
  
//MAX MAX! EASY ITS ME!// Rachel cried in thoughtspeak.   
  
"Rachel, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I exclaimed.   
  
//Sorry, I heard you coming and I thought you might be a controller.// Rachel explained.   
  
I sighed and sat down. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep, so I thought that I should come and help keep an eye on the grotto."   
  
//Great, you can keep track of the time. I can barely see my watch with these eyes.// Rachel chuckled. //Great sense of smell though.// She grinned. //Humans are such smelly creatures.//  
  
I laughed. "Glad I can help you."   
  
I leaned back against the false tree stump. "Sonic eat your heart out." I muttered.   
  
//What?// Rachel asked.  
  
I chuckled. "I was just reminded of Sonic the hedgehog, we might as well be guarding Knothole Village."   
  
Rachel was about to retort when Tobias shouted... //ALERT!! MORPH!! PARENTAL UNIT ON ITS WAY!//   
  
I was already starting. Unfortunately, I had lost focus on controlling the morph process. My knee joints reversed with a crunch. Desperately, I rolled into the bushes, praying that I was out of sight. My wolf hearing picked up, faintly.   
  
"I don't think that it's a good idea to be out at night Judy." Mr. Dickinson was saying.   
  
"We need to cut the Blade Breakers off from the Grotto. I'm sorry Dee, Sierran, but I don't want Max in there. There's a lot of dangerous stuff." Mom was saying.   
  
"Are you doing this to protect Max or to hide from him?" Asked a voice that I recognized as Tyson's grandfather.   
  
"I..." Mom was spared having to answer as Ax and I bolted from the trees and joined Rachel and Tobias. "Oh my god!" Her expression was horrified comprehension. "They've arrived, there are andilites here on Earth."  
  
//Yes, I'm sure this is quite a 'newsflash' as Kai would put it.// Ax said calmly. //Human, you are being warned to turn back now and not to interfere with our attempts to unlock the Grotto.//  
  
Mom glared at him, fists clenched in rage. "WHO DO YOU THINK BUILT THAT GROTTO YOU PILE OF SKRIT DUNG?? JUDIN COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ON HER OWN! WE HELPED!"  
  
//You mean like you won't help Max learn to fight?// I asked, barely concealing my rage. //He's willing to sacrifice everything in order to ensure his planet's freedom, and you hold him back? How selfish is that?// I asked.   
  
"Max is too young to fight. It would be like trying to send an underage aristh into a full blown ground invasion!" Mom protested.   
  
//You don't understand human! We are desperately underpowered, cut off from the homeworld, and the only weapon that we have is the morphing technology. It all comes down to a single escafil device! And what happens if we lose that? What do we do if our morphs are incapacitated?//  
  
//Be careful what you say about underage arisths.// Ax growled. //I am an aristh, and when I joined the fight, I too was underage. I am stranded on Earth, I have made the most of it and thrown myself into the battle, as my brother Elfangor would have done!//  
  
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Mom shouted at him. She swung at Ax.   
  
I didn't mean to do it. I didn't want to do it. I was angry, and it was an impulse. I leapt, at my own mother, and rammed her. Mom sprawled on the ground, eyes widening in fear. //How dare you attack an aristh? I was the one you were arguing with!// I growled at her.   
  
"I will not lose my son. I will not let you teach him to morph, only to have him trapped!" Mom growled.   
  
//And how do you propose to keep him from fighting?// Rachel asked, more calmly. She helped my mother to her feet. //Human, allying ourselves with other humans is probably the only way that we will win this war. And children are often better at morphing than adults. Human children have done amazing things. Didn't Beethoven compose his first song at the age of five?//  
  
"Close." Mom admitted.   
  
//And Joan of Arc was close to Max's age when she went off to fight.// Rachel answered. //You, human woman, must learn to let your children grow. I have heard from the human called Kai, that your Max is easily the most responsible human of the Blade Breakers. Consider that.//  
  
"I'm not letting you block off the grotto." Mr. Dickinson said nervously, clearing his throat. He reached for the entry panel.  
  
Again, that anger rose up inside of me. I jumped up on my hind legs and snapped at his outstretched hand. Mr. Dickinson jumped back. //STAY OUT OF OUR BUSINESS.//  
  
"Yo dude." Tyson's grandfather told me. "I'm not trying to offend your andilite pride dude, but you have serious anger management issues."   
  
They left. Tobias shadowed them. I demorphed and returned to Ax's scoop. I lay down in the sleeping bag and cried myself to sleep. 


	8. Promises I can't keep, nightmares of the...

The Generation  
  
Notes: This chapters kind of short, and there's some Kai/Rei at the end, it just sort of... explains some stuff. And since we haven't heard from Kai yet, I figured we could bring him in here for a bit... Here he is folks the one and only Kai...  
  
Chapter 7- Kai  
  
I expected Erek to be confronted that night when we made it home. He was not, or not the way that we thought he would be.   
  
Judy calmly pulled us aside and said. "Max, promise me... promise me and mean it, that you will stay away from those Andilites. Whatever the other blade breakers will do, don't join them."   
  
Erek rolled his eyes and said. "I promise mom." But I noticed that his fingers were crossed behind his back.   
  
Tyson made a snorking sound as soon as we made it to the den. "Nice going Erek."   
  
Rei locked the door behind us. "What's wrong with Judy? I mean, if she's not a controller, then why doesn't she want Max in on the fight. I mean, if it were Michael, or Lee, or any of the other captains in the same situation, they'd be begging to help, cheering us on."   
  
"To answer your unspoken question Tyson, I don't want to make any promises to her that Max might not want to or be able to keep."   
  
I nodded. "That's sensible, are you sure you can keep this up for three days?"   
  
"I can, and if you like I can give Dizzy the records that Marco and I downloaded from the grotto this morning."   
  
Kenny nodded. "Can you interface with Dizzy?"   
  
Erek dropped the hologram. "Easily." He answered. Erek's hand opened. A cord snaked its way into Dizzy's internet output.   
  
"Uploading..." Dizzy began, then. "Woah! These andilites don't kid around with their computers! I've found five firewalls in the first kilobyte of data alone! Processing... You guys, there's a visual record here..."   
  
An andilite face appeared on the screen. Its thoughtspeak was converted to speech by Dizzy's processors. "My name is Judin Olarn Sorath, the first Andilite War Princess, and very likely the last. I will be leaving with my old friend Baron Voltaire Hiwatari for Moscow. This is very likely to be my last entry. I'll be keeping a journal at the new Balkov Abbey. It will probably end up covered in dust in Voltaire's Archives.  
  
"I will return if I have need of a hiding place. With the large numbers of potential hosts and plentiful resources of Earth, it is very likely that the yeerks will eventually find their way to Earth. I will wait... when they come I will raise a force of humans, equipped with andilite technology, probably Morphing Powers... and I will be waiting for them.   
  
"My only worry is time. I am already thirty in andilite years. Andilites usually live for about a hundred and ten. Each andilite year is seven human years. My friends Sierran, Dickinson, and Voltaire will probably be too old to fight them. I must wait for a new generation of humans, probably beybladers all, to train in the Way of the Warrior. When the time comes, I will search among the BBA's finest. I will probably start in the Abbey. I have listed possible recruits below from those on the Abby Roster."   
  
"Wow!!" Dizzy scrolled through the Data. "Check this out... Robert was part of the original group at Balkov Abby... Lets see... Spencer... Tala of course... Kai was on the list... Bryan was there too... and... eeeewww!! Remember that ugly hulk Boris? Judin would have chosen HIM! And Gideon was at the Abby... now we know where he gets his evilness from!"   
  
"This is an old record. Knowing their reputation, I don't think it would have been wise for Judin to include Boris and Gideon in her little scheme." I told Dizzi. "Do you recognize anybody else?"   
  
"Not on the Abbey Roster. The list grows over time... almost all the older bladers from the main teams are here... Gary from the Tigers... Enrique was listed as maybe... Lee was a definite... Dunga was a maybe... Michael got a recommendation from Mr. Dickinson..."   
  
Tyson giggled. "DUNGA??" He laughed. "Yeah right! Dunga's the last person the fate of the world should rest on!"   
  
"This list may not be accurate." I interjected. "People change from age two to age eighteen... or to age twenty, which is about how old Boris and Gideon are now."   
  
"Why do all the knottiest problems in the BBA have to come from Balkov Abbey?" Asked Rei. "And I'm surprised that Kevin and Mariah aren't on the list, I mean, why pick half a team?"   
  
"They weren't born yet." Dizzy told him. "This list cuts off about the year you were born Rei. Mariah was an infant, and Kevin didn't exist yet."   
  
Tyson made a face. "I don't like Kevin, he's an asshole."   
  
"You just don't like him because he tried to throw me off a cliff." Rei pointed out. "And you hate anybody who interferes with our team."   
  
I privately agreed with Rei. Tyson tends to see things black and white.   
  
Just then Dizzy let out a horrified... "Oh ohoh!"   
  
"What is it Dizzy?" Kenny whirled.   
  
"Have a look at this!" Dizzy brought up another visual file.   
  
Judy's face stared back at us from the screen. The expression in her eyes tore a hole through my heart.   
  
"There has been a fire at Balkov Abby. Judin Olarn Sorath perished in the blaze attempting to save Tala and Spencer. Boris lost his eyesight. The doctor is working on a cybernetic eye mask to replace his eyes. Robert got a broken arm, but other than that he was fine, his was the least of the injuries sustained. Spencer is in the hospital with third degree burns. And Tala! Poor Tala almost died of smoke inhalation. He lapsed into a coma shortly after arriving at the hospital, but the doctor says that he'll recover. However, the Terra Morphing project has been suspended indefinitely. Without Judin's guidance in galactic technology and affairs, I don't think there will be much we can do. All we can do is hope that the Yeerks won't attack us, and hope, as Judin said, for a new generation.   
  
"Garibah have been planted and dedicated for Tyson, Kai, and my newborn son Max. As soon as I am sure that they will be alright, I will seal off Judin's sanctuary from outside eyes, so that Judin's soul may rest in peace."   
  
The other blade breakers bowed their heads. I shook mine. "This record means nothing." I said aloud.  
  
"BUT KAI!" Tyson protested.   
  
"I mean, she did die after all!" Rei agreed.   
  
Kenny was busy correlating dates. He turned around. "What's wrong Kai, I mean, its consistent with what Mr. Dickinson told us, and with what Max's Garibah told him."   
  
Hillary's eyebrows went up. "You think Judy forged the record?" She asked.   
  
"That's exactly what I think. Look at how she's been acting towards our involvement."  
  
"He does have a point Tyson. Dead or alive, Judin is obviously somewhere that we can't reach her, at least for the moment. Either she's someplace where she doesn't want to be found..."  
  
"Or she's somewhere where she can't be found..." Tyson stood up from the chair that he'd straddled backwards.  
  
"Right then." I told them. "Tomorrow we'll bring this record to Jake, and depending on what he makes of it, we go to the Gardens and get some power morphs, agreed?"   
  
"Agreed!" They chorused.   
  
With that, Rei and I went upstairs to work on Homework.   
  
Rei is the person that I trust most on the team. I mean, yeah Hillary's okay, if a bit temperamental. Hillary goes from point A to point B much faster than Tyson does. So I don't mind having her hang out, but there are times when she really annoys me.  
  
And then there's that something more that I feel towards Rei. More than friendship... its like our souls connect somehow, and that connection is stronger than with any other member of the group. "Rei." I said when I shut the door. "What do you think of all this?"   
  
"I think that Max is going to freak. He really cares about his mom. He trusts her. If what you say is true, and Judy's trying to keep us from learning about the Yeerks, from learning to Morph..." Rei broke off. "You know how Max is. He's too trusting for his own good sometimes..."   
  
"You think Max might betray us?" I asked.   
  
"Not that. He knows what would happen if he were to mess up. I just think that if it comes down to him versus his mother. He'd probably rather let himself be killed than have to kill his mother, if Judy's a controller that is. If she's not, then I don't think that their relationship will be the same after this." Rei explained.   
  
I understood what Rei was trying to say. If anybody cares about their family at all, its Max. I have no family left, so I wouldn't know. Rei always has his village to go back to, his is more of a pack type connection with those close to him. Tyson, Tyson is Tyson. Hillary's still a huge unknown in terms of family. Kenny's parents don't really have much time for him. They're usually busy running a restaurant, but if he were in the same position as Max, he'd be the one freaking out.   
  
I looked Rei in the eyes. Rei smirked, put down his pen, and leaned in to kiss me. "Is this what you're looking for?" He asked, voice heavy with lust as he pulled away about an inch from my face.  
  
"Hmm... comfort me..." I murmured.   
  
Suffice to say that very little homework got done that afternoon.  
  
~Next Morning~  
  
At the Barn the next morning I told Jake everything that Kenny and Erek had found out. I also told him my suspicion.  
  
//And Judin had no time to compile her Hirac Delest.// Ax said, sounding disappointed.   
  
"What's that?" Hillary asked.   
  
//A Hirac Delest is what you humans call an autobiography. It is a final statement, compiled shortly before the Andilite in question's death by the computer. Elfangor's Hirac Delest was sent to the homeworld already. It was given to me by Andilite High Command at the Radio Telescope about a year ago. I didn't have the heart to open it yet. Perhaps I should, it may offer some clue as to the whereabouts of my sister. However, if Judin was killed in a fire, she would not have had the chance, or the technology, to record her memories.//  
  
"Too bad." Kenny sighed. "Her records would have been an important clue."   
  
"Their absence may be an important clue too." Marco told us. "She could morph right? She might have morphed a bird and escaped. In which case, either the yeerks have her, or she's someplace where she doesn't want to be found."   
  
//Prince Jake, I believe that it is time the new animorphs acquire combat morphs.// Ax suggested.   
  
"And later I want to try out that horse morph that I acquired before all of you showed up!" Hillary grinned. "I always wanted a horse. I just never thought I'd be one."   
  
"Mommy! I want a poooony!" Tyson teased.   
  
Hillary whacked him over the head with a newspaper. Max rolled his eyes. Rei chuckled. I couldn't help laughing. "Its going to end up like that isn't it?" I asked Jake. "We'll all get to morph that one animal that we always wanted as a pet."   
  
Jake nodded. "Something like that." He told us.   
  
Max sighed. "What's wrong Max?" Tyson asked. "Is it your mother?"   
  
"That's only half the problem." He turned to Ax. "Ax, can you tell me what it means to torf somebody?"   
  
Ax jumped startled. //Where did you hear that term?/ He asked.   
  
"Answer and I'll tell you." Max told him.   
  
Ax shifted uncomfortably. //A torf is when you hit somebody with the flat of the tail blade, it is how an andilite knocks out an opponent that they do not wish to kill.//  
  
"I've been having weird dreams lately." Max explained. "The day I learned to morph I had a dream where the All Starz were controllers. Mom morphed into an andilite and saved me. She said that she'd torfed them, and to run for it. But then I heard somebody laughing at me, and the five of them dissolved into butterflies made out of energy."   
  
Tyson laughed. "Its just the stress Max."   
  
Rachel jumped. "Butterflies?" She and Cassie exchanged a look.   
  
"You think that there's something more to this?" I asked.   
  
"No way. Why would he interfere?" Jake asked. "What's so significant about Max?"   
  
"I really, REALLY hope that its not who I think you mean." Marco told Rachel. "Because every time we run into that guy we end up screaming and running for our lives."   
  
"Hey, the same thing happens with Crayak." Rachel shrugged. "I'd rather it be somebody who's at least reasonably pleasant about it."   
  
"Who are what are you talking about?" Hillary demanded.   
  
//What is more accurate.// Ax explained. //He's called the Elemist, a seemingly omnipotent being from Andilite Mythology. He claims not to interfere in the lives of other species, but he's done it before now. If he's singled you out Max, it means that you form an important juncture in time and space, or are an important catalyst in this fight.//  
  
Max flushed. Tyson's jaw dropped. "Well then." Marco said sardonically. "Just for the record, so that EVERYBODY knows, this is insane! Insane!"   
  
Ax ignored him. I got the feeling that this was a common complaint of Marco's. //Have you had any other dreams?// He asked.   
  
"Um... Last night I dreamed that I was Judin, teaching Elfangor some kind of ritual. Then when I looked in the water, I saw my reflection morph into an andilite." Max told us. "I screamed, and that was when I woke up."  
  
//What time of day was it?// Ax asked, making a notation in the sketchbook.   
  
"Dawn." Max answered.  
  
//The morning ritual.// Ax nodded, making another note. //I'll show it to you later.//   
  
"Alright, if this Elemist guy is so tough then why doesn't he just snuff out the yeerks like a candle?" Tyson asked.   
  
"Don't ask me!" Marco rolled his eyes. "If I knew I wouldn't be going on insane missions like teaching the top Beyblading team in the world how to change into animals for two hours at a time."   
  
"So we go?" Hillary asked. "Like, now?"   
  
"I suppose." Cassie shrugged. "Its still early yet, the park is still close. Nobody would see a few seagulls slipping into the enclosures. Unfortunately, we don't have any seagulls." She waved her hand in a direction indicating the bird cages at the far end of the barn.  
  
"That's okay Cassie, we'll morph seagulls and they'll morph birds of prey." Jake shrugged.   
  
I closed my eyes, focusing on the peregrine falcon. Five minutes later I had black and white feathers, ripping talons, and the fastest wings on the planet. 


	9. Like they say in the Lion King be preeee...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 8- Max  
  
Flying is amazing. If it weren't Tyson wouldn't be singing John Meyr at the top of his psychic lungs. //WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD YOU SAID TO ME  
  
CONDESCENDINGLY...//   
  
//Tyson...// Hillary said warningly.   
  
//TAKE YOUR SEAT, TAKE YOUR LIFE, PLOT IT OUT IN BLACK AND WHITE...//  
  
//I'm warning you Tyson.//   
  
Marco joined in, in seagull morph about a mile or so below us. //I NEVER LIVED THE DREAM OF THE PROM KINGS, AND THE DRAMA QUEENS...//  
  
//Ooooh Marco look, half a chocolate bar!// Rachel exclaimed.   
  
//WHERE??// Marco demanded.   
  
//I don't see a chocolate bar.// Jake said happily. //But that french fry down there is MINE!//  
  
//Mmmmm... Bread, and not that stupid wonder bread either! It looks homemade!// Cassie exclaimed.   
  
//I see a place where they make delicious salt and grease.// Ax said cheerfully.   
  
They had been keeping up a running commentary on all the garbage and food they saw, even when we were over the gardens. Tobias landed in a tree. //Okay, Kai you first.//  
  
//Hmm... May I get two?//  
  
//That may be a good idea. Just because were consistent in our combat morphs doesn't mean that you have to be.// Tobias said thoughtfully.   
  
//I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BEST OF ME! STILL HAD IT UP MY SLEAVE!!// Tyson sang happily.   
  
Kai dipped downward towards an enclosure. //I'll start with a gorilla. But since Marco has one already, I thought that I should get another one.//   
  
I circled for five minutes. Kai rose upward again. He sailed down to an enclosure where my red tail eyes saw a Leopard lounging on the rocks. I kept an eye on him while he demorphed. This was the between hours, when the park had not opened yet, but the guards were too sleepy to pay much attention on their rounds. As I watched, Kai sailed upward and landed on the Ferris wheel.   
  
//Right, Tyson next.//   
  
Tyson sailed over the enclosures. //I think I'll acquire two battle morphs as well. The morph that I really want won't fit in some places.// He said as he circled down towards the Elephant enclosure.  
  
//GO FOR IT!!// Rachel said. //You know Tyson, I was starting to think you were more like Marco. But you appear to have very good taste in battle morphs. But honestly Kai, I never thought that you'd be like Marco and pick a monkey.//  
  
Kai grunted something I couldn't make out. Something about her talking about morphs like she was at a fashion show.   
  
Tyson sailed back up, this time as a golden eagle instead of a red tailed hawk. He flew a few dozen yards along to the bears' section of the zoo. //Hey Rachel, ever hear of a Kodiak bear?// He asked.   
  
//No.// Rachel admitted.   
  
//It's the biggest bear in the world, bigger than your grizzly. You know what I'm doing in its enclosure, right?//  
  
Rachel cackled in glee. //This here's a kid after my own heart! First battle we're in Tyson, I'll challenge you to a yeerk stomping contest!//   
  
//You're on!// Tyson exclaimed as he sailed out of the enclosure.   
  
//Okay Rei!// Tobias cheered. //Chose you're weapon!//   
  
//Right! Tiger enclosure, here I come! Geronimoooooooooo!!!// Rei cried as he dove into the Tiger pen. Five minutes later he came darting out. //YOW! I DIDN'T KNOW TIGERS ATE EAGLES!!!//  
  
//What happened?// Cassie asked.   
  
//The tiger tried to eat me!// Rei cried, indignantly. //I ought to tell Driger on them!// He joked.   
  
//Okay, Hillary, your turn!//   
  
//Yeay! Rambi the Rhino here I come!// Hillary circled down to the rhino enclosure and landed on the Rhinoceros' back. I watched her demorph. The sleeping rhino only opened one eye, then closed it again as he went into the acquiring trance. Hillary remorphed and rose on a burgeoning thermal just enough to clear the enclosure and sail down to...  
  
//A Hyena Hillary??// Kenny demanded nervously.   
  
"Hey," Hillary whispered out loud. "Nobody has one yet, and I think our forms should be as diverse as possible."   
  
The Hyena didn't snap at her, or growl, instead it nuzzled her hand as she finished acquiring it. After about six or seven minutes she cleared the pen and took up a perch on the wooden roller coaster, just beneath the track. //Besides, like they said in the Lion King, "BE PRE-PAAAAAARRRREEEEED!!"//  
  
Kenny shivered. //I am NOT morphing a carnivore. That Hyena is hideous!//   
  
//Then what will you choose?// Jake asked.   
  
Kenny searched the pens for a moment. //How about that one?// He asked, dipping his head at the red kangaroos.  
  
Tyson giggled. //Yeah, what will you do? Kick the yeerks to death?//   
  
//Har, har, har Tyson. The red kangaroo is the biggest and the strongest, besides, ever see that stupid movie with the singing kangaroo?//  
  
//You mean Kangaroo Jack?// He asked. //Yeah, and Kenny, that was FICTION. You do know that my Kodiak bear can punch at least as hard as that Kangaroo can kick right?//   
  
"Your point?" Kenny whispered as he acquired the biggest kangaroo in the lot. "I'll acquire something else later, like pit viper or something, and then you can use me as a bull whip."   
  
//Well don't say that I told you so.// Tyson said, rolling his eyes.   
  
//Actually, if you can think up an excuse to go camping, I can take you to a colony of Hork Bajir to acquire them.// Tobias offered. //Most Hork Bajir are slaves of the yeerks, but there's a colony of about fifty or so in the mountains.//  
  
//Right then, Max, pick a morph, any morph.// Marco said cheerfully.   
  
I looked over the cages. I didn't feel very special. Personally, I think that the Elemist picked the wrong guy. I don't feel like somebody who has the fate of the world resting on my shoulders.   
  
But I was scared. Ax had shown me a picture of the hork bajir, and every other species in the yeerk empire. I had seen sketches of the monsters that Visser Three had morphed. I wanted something that would at least keep me alive. Then I saw it. I saw the creature that would ensure my survival in battle. //Okay, I pick that one.// I dove down to the lion enclosure, down to the male that was as white as snow. White lions were exceedingly rare. They were symbols of power.   
  
Everybody stared at me. //A...l...lion?// Tobias gawked.   
  
Rachel and Marco looked at each other. Cassie shivered. Ax stared at me intently. //Did I choose wrong?// I asked. Maybe it was like the golden eagle morph, a hard to handle super predator.   
  
//Good choice Max.// Jake said with a note of pride and encouragement in his thoughtspeak voice. //Good choice.//  
  
~notes~  
  
DUM DUM DUM!!  
  
Marco: (sweatdropping) You're not going to have Max pull a David are you?  
  
Of course not! It's a different lion, a white lion! Kind of like Kimba or Leo! (huggles Kimba plushie)  
  
Marco: Who are they?   
  
The stars of Dr. Osamu Tezuka's anime, "Kimba the White Lion," and "Leo King of the Jungle."   
  
Marco: Oh, what do they have in common with Max?   
  
Pure souls, kind hearts, and they're all cuter than you are.  
  
Rachel: Oooooo Marco she sunned you!  
  
Marco: Shut up. 


	10. Fire! The irony gods strike again!

The Generation  
  
Chapter 9- Max  
  
What to do? What to do? It was Saturday. I had nothing to do. I was not going to go back to the grotto not for a while. Ax, Tobias and I pealed off from the others and headed back towards the national forest. //What are we going to do with our day?// I asked.   
  
  
  
//I dunno. I mean, there's not really much going on.// Tobias said thoughtfully. //Hey, I got an idea! Why don't we go on a tour of the yeerk pool entrances! Wait until you see the one in the Mc Donald's!//  
  
  
  
//Max, I would like you to help me check out the Grotto one more time.// Ax told me. //There was something in Dizzy's readings that bothered me.//  
  
  
  
So off we went. Ax turned on the computer in the fighter craft. //Access…// He rattled off a series of equations. A holographic screen and a panel appeared.   
  
  
  
//HOLY SHIT!!// Ax cried, almost falling over in surprise. //A Morph preservation device!//  
  
  
  
A hologram of Judin appeared. //I have created two frolis andilite and two frolis hork bajir morphs for whoever needs them. Press the panels on the screen to activate, then place your hands to the blue panel.//  
  
Ax turned to me. //Whatever the Elemist intends you to do it has to do with Andilites, I suggest that you take the first of the frolises.// Ax told me.  
  
I gulped. I had been having nightmares about andilites, and now I was going to become the thing that was giving me the nightmares. Talk about irony. "Ooookay..." My hand shook as I pressed the button.   
  
//Frolis Andilite morph selected, choose sex.// I pressed the male symbol on the second set of buttons. //Male andilite...//  
  
A blue panel opened on the computer board. //Place your hand on the panel.// It told me.  
  
I pressed my hand to the panel. Unlike the pleasant sensation that occured when I acquired an animal, the panel stung my hand, warming beneath my palm.  
  
The heat faded away. //Thank you and have a nice day.// The computer intoned.   
  
I pulled my hand away. "Now I just proceed as usual right?" I asked.   
  
//Yes. Let's go outside.// Ax lead me up the dropshaft. The hole closed up behind me as I went.   
  
I closed my eyes, focusing on the andilite DNA that rested within me. And as the changes began, I couldn't help feeling that I was coming home.  
  
The first thing that happened was that I grew, and as I grew, two new legs, ending in hooves and covered in blue fur, sprouted from my chest. My skin tanned and my hair turned into blue fur, before spreading down my body.   
  
Sproot! Sproot!  
  
Four eyes! I could see in all directions at once! It was incredible, amazing! I tried to open my mouth, but I realized that my lips had melted together. My nose had flattened into my face. Two new fingers sprouted from each of my hands. I was more andilite now than human.   
  
The last thing that emerged was the tail. I felt it sprout from my butt like a weed. With a shooowoosh noise, the blade slipped out of the tip, long, sharp, and curved wickedly. I tried moving the tail, flick, flick! I nipped the ends off the tall grass at the edges of the meadow.   
  
Then the andilite mind emerged, confident, alert, ready to fight. I was a creature that, while not a predator, controlled his environment. Something else bubbled up beneath it. More than confidence, not quite joy or happiness. It was... optimism? Strange, I would have thought that...  
  
//Max!// Ax waved a hand in front of my face. //Are you alright in there?//  
  
//Yes, I think so.//  
  
//We are taught from a young age to control our optimism, to harness our instincts.// Ax told me as I set my watch.  
  
//Right.// I said nervously.   
  
//Well then, the first thing that every andilite cadet learns is 'Main eyes front, stalk eyes scanning.// Ax went on. //Now get ready to run. We'll go from here to the river, and then to the scoop. Ready?// He asked.   
  
//I'll try.// I said calmly.   
  
//Let's go!// Ax said happily as he darted away.   
  
It was hard at first, I had two extra limbs, and too many fingers, but I felt at home, and I fell into the rythmn of Andilite hoof beats.   
  
Ax and I made it to a waterfall in the river. //Hang on, I'll get a drink.// He dipped a hoof in the water. I mimicked him. I felt something cool running up my hoof. Water! I was drinking with my feet!  
  
We turned and ran at an angle to the river. We left it behind and I became aware of the grass running up my hooves as I crushed it. We were on our way to Tobias' scoop when I heard...  
  
"Garash nur Andilite!"   
  
I whirled. Coming at me was a creature about seven feet tall. It had a long, serpentine head and a bird like beak, with sharp teeth concealed within. It had three razer sharp, forward swept horns sprouting from the top of its head. The creature had long arms and razor sharp blades on its elbows, wrists, and knees. Its legs were bent backwards. It had talons like a tyrannosaurus and a long tail with two blades on it for balence.   
  
//Run for it Max!// Ax shouted.   
  
But it was too late, I was cut off by three more horkbajir. //Two apiece?// I asked.   
  
//Yes, it seems that we will have to fight.// Ax agreed. //Listen to the andilite inside of you, he knows how to do battle.//   
  
I closed my main eyes, listening to the andilite mind. I felt, a fire welling up within me. The Hork Bajir circled carefully around me. He lept in, a feint! Then came around the side. This was it...  
  
FWAP! My tail sailed through the air, slashing the hork bajir down the head. I heard him scream, and then fall still.   
  
There was still one more. Ax was taking on his two at once, slashing so fast that I could barely track him, blocking each blow with expert grace and ease. The second hork bajir, smaller and with two horns, not three, leapt at me, leg raised to kick. I dodged the kick and struck!  
  
The horkbajir blocked the blow. "Not so easy is it andilite?" The horkbajir demanded.   
  
//Max, do not answer! They must believe without a doubt that we are andilites!// Ax shouted.   
  
"Such lovely bodies! I will enjoy your agony when I am in your head! I'll be Visser three's new best friend!" The horkbajir taunted.   
  
I struck! She blocked it with her knee blade. The blade went spinning away. The hork bajir leapt back. I noticed a gash on her knee. She snarled in rage, and I realized that I'd cut more than the knee blade. Her right leg was covered in gashes, bleeding blue/green ichor.   
  
Suddenly, WHAM!! The hork bajir that I'd cut in the head stood there, glaring defiance, blood dripping into its eyes. "Thank you for killing my yeerk andilite." He said with an alien expression that I recognized as a smile. "I will take care of her."   
  
//Your name?//   
  
"Saro Jagil, hork bajir seer." He answered. As I watched, he was slowly backing the smaller hork bajir against a tree. I realized that this controller had a younger host. Saro rattled what I realized was a belt of chains. He swung with the chain, pinning the hork bajir controller.   
  
The controller whipped out what Ax had told me was a dracon beam. Saro grappled with her for it. Too late! The hork bajir controller fired!  
  
TSSSSSSSEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!  
  
The beam missed. Ax finished off his own Hork Bajir just in time to duck out of the way. The beam hit the grass, which was dry from the current dry spell. The grass burst into flame! A forest fire!  
  
As I watched in horror, the fire spread. I turned to Saro. //Saro, head south towards the town for about four miles, take your prisoner with you. You will find a meado with a red tailed hawk. Tell that hawk what happened. Tell him to get help, then get your prisoner to water and stay there!// I whirled on Ax. //Ax! Time!//  
  
//Half of one of your hours remains in morph!//  
  
Half an hour! We turned and ran, racing the flames to the river!   
  
FLASH! I heard screaming! A tiny voice crying, "JUU JUU! JUU JUU!"   
  
A booming loudspeaker. "EVERYBODY OUT! THIS IS JOURNEYMAN GIDEON! WE HAVE A FIRE ON LEVEL FOUR!! EVERYBODY OUT!!"   
  
I ran, head whirling with confusion. I was hearing things, the forest had no 'level four!' I heard screams, children crying! But when I turned my stalk eyes, I saw nothing. I felt nothing but blind, subliminal panic! I had to get out! I had to get out! I screamed, but it wasn't me screaming!  
  
A siren whirled inside my head, but I saw nothing that could be making it. Terror! Fear! Panic! Run! It ran deeper than the andilite fear of fire. This was subliminal! A panicking dejavu of fire and fear.   
  
A burning branch fell from the tree near me. NOT A BRANCH! A BEAM! I was in a blazing inferno of stone and metal! Yet I was not constricted by walls! I shook my head in confusion, I was in the forest again!   
  
//AX! TIME!!//  
  
//Fifteen of your minutes left in morph.// Ax said calmly.   
  
I ran, then, BOOM! A burning branch caught Ax on the back haunch. There was a sickening crack as he broke his leg. I yanked. Ax limped behind me. //Max! Run! Don't worry about me! YOu need to demorph!//   
  
//I can't leave you behind!// I protested.   
  
//I'll morph to harrier!// Ax cried. I could see the feathers appearing on his body. I grabbed Ax, hauling him along. I listened as I went for the tell tale gurgle of the river. It was wide enough to stop the fire.   
  
//Ten minutes!!// Ax cried. //Max please don't get trapped for me!//  
  
I ignored him, forcing him to lean his weakened side against me. Another branch fell, FWAP! We swatted at it in unison and the branch shattered, and far away, way too far away, I heard the river.  
  
Ax was melting away, becoming a harrier.   
  
//Five minutes! Max I can handle it RUN!// Ax shouted.   
  
The fire was one hundred yards and closing. I scooped Ax up as he finished morphing, moving slowly! Too slowly!  
  
//Two minutes!// Ax cried as he took to the air.   
  
I ran, flat out, fifty yards in thirty seconds. //DEMORPH!!// Somebody screamed from above!  
  
I stumbled as my two front legs melted back into my chest and my feet emerged from my hind legs. I fell into the river, gasping for breath. I continued demorphing.   
  
//ONE MINUTE!!!// Ax screamed.   
  
But it was getting hard to focus. THE SMOKE! I was dying of smoke inhalation! I was emerging, too slowly. Memories flooded back, in one of them I was five, playing shapeshifter in the back yard with Michael. Who knew then that I'd gain that ability? Who knew then that I'd blow it?  
  
Far away, strong Hork Bajir arms pulled me from the water, and human lips pushed air back into my dying, collapsing lungs.  
  
~~~  
  
Notes: DUM! DUM!! DUM!!! 


	11. An Explanation? DNA Echo?

The Generation  
  
Chapter 10- Kai  
  
The Hork Bajir leader Toby Hame carried an unconscious Max to Ax's scoop like a babe. I'd never have thought that a Hork Bajir could be so gentle. They look very frightening. We gave the captured hork bajir's yeerk a choice, he could come out of there quickly and die, or he could starve to death. The yeerk chose to die quickly.   
  
Tyson squashed it like a bug, an expression of rage on his face. "Stupid slug! How dare you do this to Max!" He growled.   
  
"Save it," Cassie told him. "A yeerk in his natural form cannot hear."   
  
"Let him." Hillary growled. "Let him get it out of his system."   
  
//All clear!// Tobias shouted down.   
  
Tobias, Jake, and I had been discussing a mission with Toby when the newly freed hork bajir "seer" had come running. It didn't take long to figure out who the two, "andilites" were. One of them was, of course, Ax. The other one could only be Max in morph, since they were the only two of us not present at the meeting.   
  
Ax could not swim against the current to reach Max, the river was too strong. Max's grip on the boulder had slipped when Toby Hame dove into the river and pulled him out. Cassie had given Max CPR. He'd survived, but was still unconscious. Max shivered in his sleep. We'd put him in his sleeping bag. Max's skin was clammy. He was trembling and sweating in his sleep, thrashing in pain.   
  
//This is very strange.// Ax commented. //He should have woken up.//  
  
"Yeah no kidding!" Tyson snapped.   
  
"Tyson don't take your frustration out on Ax, please?" Kenny begged.   
  
//It reminds me of something... something I read about a long time ago. But Max is human! It shouldn't be happening to him!// Ax shook his head, trembling from head to tail.   
  
"Reminds you of what Ax?" Jake asked.   
  
//There is a condition that affects andilites, a sort of genetic abnormality that happens when they morph into a sentient creature. It is very rare. The only cases of it that are recorded happened when we were testing the morphing technology.//  
  
"Just get to the point!" Tyson snapped.   
  
Cassie looked at Tyson, a single quelling look.   
  
"Sorry Cassie." Tyson murmured.   
  
//It is called an Olarn Faron, it means genetic memory, or echo. A few andilites are born with the power to see the past, memories of some one or something related to their DNA. If Judin included her own DNA in the Frolis Morph, Max may have accidentally acquired some of her memories. The condition was probably triggered by his panic, the stress of the fire combined with the fear of being trapped.//  
  
We all stared. "So Max is dreaming about Judin?" Hillary asked, eyes round.   
  
"Well well well, the Irony Gods have struck again!" Marco rolled his eyes. "Have I ever mentioned how insane our daily lives have become?"   
  
"Marco you and your irony gods can take a hike unless you can offer a constructive comment!" Rachel snapped.   
  
Marco winced. Rei spoke up for the first time. "But Max demorphed right? He should wake up soon."   
  
//That is what puzzles me.// Ax replied. //If he were still in andilite morph he would be acting like this, not now that he's in his base form.//  
  
Tyson sat down next to Max, his baseball hat clenched in his fist. Tyson pulled Max into his arms, tears in his eyes. "Come on Max..." He said softly. "You can shake it!"   
  
~Max~  
  
I wish I knew how. I was dimly aware of what was going on. Voices wavered in and out of audibility. But I couldn't tell the difference between them and the reality.   
  
//Retreat! Retreat!//  
  
//Captain Judin! The yeerks are attacking!//  
  
//Sofor get us out of here!//   
  
//Aye aye ma'am!//   
  
"Max wake up!"   
  
The hork bajir swung at me, wrist blade aimed to remove my head. I ducked, reared, and kicked him down. Then FWAP! A well-aimed swipe of my tail removed his head.   
  
"Come on Max... you can shake it!"   
  
I was running with Alloran and Aldrea. Dak Hame was in the trees above us. This was very likely the last time we'd be running this patrol. The yeerks were too strong. We were too weak.   
  
Too weak... just like me... if this was death, it didn't feel so bad.   
  
In fact, I was getting stronger, more aware.   
  
I felt something wet falling on my cheek.   
  
"Max..." Tyson sobbed. "Makkusu-kun... ai shiteru..."   
  
My eyes fluttered open. "Tyson?" I asked weakly.   
  
"MAX!!" Tyson burst into tears, the only time I'd ever seen him do it. The others leaned over me. I reached up, brushing the tears from Tyson's eyes.   
  
Kai caught Tyson's gaze. Tyson shook his head. I didn't realize the significance of this gesture.   
  
"How did I escape?" I asked weakly.   
  
"You don't remember?" Tyson asked tenderly. I snuggled against his chest. "We found you drowning. Toby Hame here pulled you out."   
  
"Cassie gave you mouth to mouth you lucky dog." Marco winked. "I'll bet Jake is Jeeelll-ous!"   
  
Rachel threw a handful of grass in his direction. Marco ducked and made a face at her. The two of them argued for awhile. I tuned it out. I just lay there, trembling in Tyson's arms. I was too tired to cry, too frightened to cry. Tyson held me tight. I needed him. I needed him so bad.   
  
"Toby, why are you here?" Jake asked, ignoring us for the moment.   
  
"An andilite calling herself Ezemili crash landed in the valley. She's looking for you Ax."  
  
//Why is she looking for me?// Ax asked.   
  
"She claims to be your sister… and Ax, she brought Elfangor's Hirac Delest with her." Toby Hame said simply.   
  
//SISTER??// Ax demanded.   
  
"So she claims." Toby answered. "What shall I tell her?"   
  
"Tell her we'll be there in the morning." Jake said wearily. "Right, everybody relax, get some rest. Tomorrow were going on a looooonnnnggg hike!"   
  
They left. Tobias circled overhead for a time, but he eventually settled down in his meadow. Ax was gone, probably discussing details with the others.   
  
We were able to talk, uninhibited.   
  
I reached up and pulled Tyson down to kiss me, not a mere peck on the cheek, like we'd normally do. This was a long, passionate kiss on the lips. I opened my mouth, slipping my tongue along his lips. Tyson grinned, opening his mouth. I slipped my tongue in, exploring every inch of his mouth. "Tyson..." I murmured as he pulled away. Tyson smirked down at me, trailing kisses down my jawline.   
  
We were under the tent that Ax had put up as a storm shelter. If you were flying you'd never be able to see inside. As Tyson worked his lips down my shoulders, his arm thrust out, attempting to pull down the fourth side of the tent to close it. Finding the catch, he released it. The fourth wall of tarp unrolled gracefully down the side. Nobody would walk in on us now.   
  
My hands slipped down Tyson's back, resting on his butt. Tyson threw his jacket (which he'd left here) and hat into a corner and pulled off his t-shirt. I sort of wiggled out of my own t-shirt, slipping the armbands that I normally wore off of my arms.   
  
Tyson's lips were working their way down my chest now, his hands running up my thighs. It felt so good. I'm very sure that it would have felt better, except that I heard footsteps approaching.   
  
Tyson cursed under his breath and dove for his shirt and hat.   
  
"Tyson! Max!" Sola, the female hork bajir called. "Jake want come! Where you go?"   
  
I cursed, pulling my t-shirt and armbands back on. "Coming Sola!" I called. Tyson pulled the cord that rolled up the fourth side of the tent. We stumbled out.   
  
"What you do? Max sound like Kalashi!"   
  
"Uh... not much... what's a kalashi?" Tyson asked, curious.   
  
"Kalashi wife! Max your kalashi?" Sola asked. I groaned. This was not the sort of thing that you explain to an alien. And while Toby and Saro seemed to be pretty intelligent, Sola had the mentality of a four year old.   
  
"Umm... no." I said quickly. "See, men aren't allowed to be kalashi."   
  
"Kalashi spirit kalashi. Body not matter." Sola answered. We were dangerously close to Tobias' meadow now, and I KNEW that that was where the others were.   
  
"The leaders of our people don't know that." I replied softly. "Its not really the sort of thing that you talk about Sola."   
  
"Sola no talk, keep quiet." Sola made a gaffaw noise that I took to be a hork bajir laugh.   
  
//What's so funny?// Tobias asked.   
  
"Nothing." Sola chuckled.   
  
//I see.//   
  
"Right, Tyson, Max, now that you're here. We're going to move the two hork bajir to the hork bajir valley tomorrow, but for now they're staying at the scoop. Tobias will go back to your house Max. You'll stay behind as a guard, since your morph is one of the most powerful. Tomorrow, early, the chee will make the switch. They'll take over from Sunday morning until school is over on Monday, by which time we have to be back from the valley."   
  
"Great, at least there's no more trouble." I sighed.   
  
"Rachel, since you're nearest the boulavard, can you bring some food for us?"   
  
"Sure. And I'll bet that Rei and Tyson can hunt some meat for us when we run out." Rachel nodded in Tyson's direction.   
  
"Why do I have to be the hunter?" Asked Tyson resentfully.   
  
//Because Golden Eagles are capable of hunting things as large as deer.// Tobias answered. //You know how they say that all eagles eat sheep and things?//  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
//Guess who gave them that reputation?// Tobias told us with a thoughtspeak smirk.   
  
"Alright, alright." Tyson capitulated.   
  
"Don't worry." Cassie smiled. "I'll catch some fish too."   
  
"Right." Tyson sighed.   
  
"So how do you keep the yeerks out of the valley?" I asked Toby.  
  
"The valley opening is very small. You will have to demorph to enter it." Toby told us. "And it is far back in the mountains. There are a few yeerk bases, but not that many. We raid what's there and capture hork bajir controllers. We starve their yeerks and leave the hosts free." Toby explained. "At the same time we capture dracon beams and other artifacts from the yeerks."   
  
"Wow, pretty cool!" Tyson exclaimed.   
  
I thought it was cool too. That didn't stop me from being nervous. There were yeerks in the woods, somehow, I didn't think that this would be the last we saw of yeerks in the woods....  
  
~tbc~ 


	12. I will crawl through my past, over stone...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 11- Michael  
  
I was coming downstairs when I heard somebody talking to the coach. "Aren't you going to tell Max?" Asked a teenage boy's voice.   
  
I flattened myself against the wall. I heard Judy gasp and drop a plate. "How did you?"   
  
Don't try to call  
  
There are some bridges that burn  
  
Beyond recognition beyond repair  
  
"You left the window open, it's just big enough for my Osprey." What was an Osprey?  
  
"I'm not going to tell Max if I can help it. How could I prove it to him?" Coach asked. "And besides, it probably won't matter. But how did you figure it out?"  
  
Don't say you've changed  
  
There are some forces that turn  
  
Beyond recollection, beyond my stare  
  
"Bad call, you see, he's already starting to show the signs. He's got our medic quite confused. You see, miss Judy, even if you deny it, that's not going to guarantee that it won't happen. The fight is getting desperate." Who was speaking? I couldn't place it. "Think on that Judy. Your actions could have dire consequences, for all of us. Max is willing to give up everything for freedom, are you?" The tone of voice was hostile, accusing.   
  
"My son, I will not let my son follow my fate. Do you hear me?"   
  
When I feel the cold in the dark  
  
I know you're there  
  
There was not answer, simply the rush of wings.   
  
~Max~  
  
Kenny and Tyson had gone to the grotto early to acquire the Hork Bajir morphs, they'd practice once we got to the valley of the Hork Bajir.   
  
Long ago, I was a woman in pain  
  
A woman in need  
  
I ran to you  
  
We would take the travel in shifts. Half of us would stay on the ground in wolf morph. The other half would fly in the air. After an hour and a half, we'd switch. The forest fire had been put out, but the yeerks were almost certainly watching the burned area, and having to go around would cost us more time. So we stayed in human form, wearing morph outfits, while we walked across the burned area.   
  
"Hey Max!" Rachel tossed me a brown bag labeled Mc Donald's. "Have a couple of sausage biscuits! We'd better eat them hot and save as much bread as we can for lunch. I brought some sushi for lunch, as well as some sandwiches."   
  
Marco looked at me out of the corner of his eye. It was an appraising look. I met his eyes and blushed. "Thanks Rachel. I sure was hungry."  
  
Long ago, I did not understand  
  
You were making me bleed  
  
I ran to you  
  
"You'd better be sure that Tyson doesn't eat it all." Kai joked.   
  
"HEY!" Tyson protested. "I'm not that big a glutton."   
  
"No, you're a baka with two stomachs!" Hillary pulled him into a combination headlock and noogie.   
  
I rolled my eyes and pulled on my headphones. "Rock Melissa Ethridge..." I murmured.   
  
This was my favorite song on the CD, very soothing. My mother used to sing this song for me when I was younger. I sang softly as I walked between Rachel and Tyson and ahead of Cassie and Jake.   
  
"When I feel the cold in the dark  
  
I know what you do.  
  
"I will crawl through my past  
  
Over stones, blood and glass  
  
In the ruins."   
  
  
  
"That's pretty." Ax said. "Pre- ty ty ty, puh ri ty."   
  
"Uh... thanks." Ax was disturbingly attractive, almost effeminate in his human morph. But if I hadn't known what he was I would probably have been put off by the way he minces words. "My mom used to sing that for me when I was younger."   
  
"Andilite music, ka, mu-si-cuh is much different from human music. Most of it- it-uh I find grating-inginging." Ax explained. He tripped on a root and cried out.   
  
I helped him up, with nothing more than jammed wrists and scraped palms. "Thanks, anks anxsuh. That is the other thing about humans... how do you keep from falling over, ver, over?"   
  
"We evolved in the trees I guess." I explained. "Marco's gorilla? That's the animal closest to the human on the evolutionary tree, or the Chimpanzee. We had to be able to balance to keep from falling out of the trees."   
  
Reaching under the fence  
  
As I try to make sense  
  
In the ruins  
  
"That explains, lains ains it." Ax nodded.   
  
Toby Hame met us at the edge of the forest. "Ready to go?" She asked.   
  
"Yeah." I nodded.  
  
Together, we began to morph. I closed my eyes, focusing on the Red Tailed Hawk inside of me. I imagined the head changing first. My face bulged out and out. My nose and lips grew hard and turned yellow, then grew and curved to become a beak. My head became more streamlined and my eyesight became so strong that since I still didn't have a hawk's visual cortex, it gave me a headache. Then I had a hawk's brain and the pain faded.   
  
I focused on making the feathers ripple down my back and made the tail sprout out, growing like a weed. Then my right arm began to stretch out and out, into a wing. My bones became hollow and light. My fingers stretched into wings. I made the same happen to my left arm.   
  
Yellow scales and down rippled up my right leg and down my left. The bones thinned. My toes and feet melted together and separated into wicked, hooked talons.   
  
"Show aaaaackaaa!!" Kenny's sarcastic comment was cut off by the growth of the Harris Hawk's beak. He had a shrinking hawk's body and oversized wings. Then his head began to change and he could use thoughtspeak. //Show off.//   
  
I know your heart has held its own fear  
  
Its perfectly clear  
  
What they did to you  
  
But I'd finished morphing by then, and I rose into the sky. First Tyson, also a red tail, then Rei, followed by Kai, Hillary, and Kenny rose up after me. We split off in different directions and followed the relentless movement of six strong, fast wolves and three powerful hork bajir through the trees. I was more than ready for a break when Ax called up. //It is time to switch Prince Jake, Prince Kai.//   
  
//Don't call me prince.// They chorused. I chuckled, then dove.   
  
Switch! We were the ones running now. Flash flash flash! The trees darted by. No! I was the one darting! Tree! Tree! Tree! I almost fell headlong into them except that the wolf sense prevented the crash just in time. Every so often Toby would call back to us from this or that tree, "HURRY UP!" And we corrected ourselves, always moving in the direction of her voice, or her tracks, or her footsteps, until...  
  
In my heart it's the screaming I hear  
  
I won't let them come near  
  
Since my love knew you  
  
//Prince Jake, Prince Kai. It is time to switch.//   
  
//Don't call me prince.// Kai stopped dead in his tracks and began to morph. Jake and the others swooped down.   
  
I picked up the small travel bag that I carried in my mouth, checking my watch. "Its only nine o clock??" I demanded. "It feels like twelve at least!"   
  
"Can't slow down." Jake grunted. "I takes until around noon to make it if we don't stop."   
  
I put the watch back. Cassie picked up the bag in her mouth. I had already started to morph. Tyson was too, Golden Eagle this time.   
  
//Time!// Wolf!  
  
//Time!// Red Tail!  
  
//Time!// Wolf again.   
  
Finally, we reached a solid wall of rock. I'm not sure why, but my eyes seemed to slip away from a crack in the rock, as if some kind of reverse magnetism was drawing my eyes away from it. I began to demorph. Toby, Saro, and Sola waited patiently for us to finish. Cassie and I finished first. Tobias couldn't come of course, he was keeping an eye on my mother.   
  
After about five minutes we were all finished. "Ready you guys?" Jake asked.   
  
Yes, was the general agreement.   
  
"Let's hurry up, this place gives me the creeps." Tyson shivered as he eased his way into the narrow passage.   
  
I will crawl through my past  
  
Over stones blood and glass  
  
In the ruins  
  
I followed him, taking his hand. "Gives me the shivers too." I shook. "It feels like I'm being watched."   
  
"We probably are." Kenny said darkly as he followed us.   
  
I was reminded of those strange, dark passages in Chinese palaces. You know, the ones that go on forever, and then when they open up it seems like you've emerged into an entirely new world? That's what it felt like.   
  
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the light in the narrow pass became brighter. We emerged onto a huge meadow filled with wildflowers. To my right was an enormous forest. The trees were almost as big as redwoods. There were many kinds, oak, pine, elm, chestnut, beech, birch, and many, many others. To my left, the meadow continued, facing a cave complex in the mountains.   
  
And waiting for us was easily sixty, seventy hork bajir. Tyson tensed, but the hork bajir waited until all of us came through behind their leader. Toby lead us right up to them. I fell into step behind Kai and Tyson.   
  
And then I saw her, far on a hill. She was centaurine, with indigo/violet fur, long stalk eyes, and a tail more muscular than was feminine. She was slightly smaller than Ax, with a delicate grace that Ax didn't have. An andilite, a young one. My hearts leapt. Hearts?   
  
I shook my head in confusion, I was not an andilite! I had to convince myself of that. The urge to join her was so strong, to run, to fly over the meadow!   
  
I will reach under the fence   
  
As I try to make sense   
  
In the ruins  
  
She galloped down the rise of the hill to meet us, and listened patiently as Toby moved to the fore of our procession. "MY PEOPLE!" She called out loud enough for all to hear. "I came to Jake in the middle of a battle, saving his new Animorphs, his morphing human folk! In turn, Max..." She crooked a finger for me to come. "Max here, saved two of our people. These are Sola Hamel," Sola stepped forward, preening proudly. "And Saro Jagil, Saro is different! He has come to help us see a new way!"   
  
There was a murmur of whispered gossip. "He different..."  
  
"We thank Max..."   
  
"Yes thank Max!"   
  
They spoke up. "THANK MAX!" They cried. I felt my skin flushing.   
  
"Max, Kai, Tyson, Kenny, Rei, Hillary, these are my parents Jara Hame and Ket Halpak." She turned to Jake and nodded respectfully to the young andilite. "This is Ezemili Ani Maradak, pilot of the blockade courier, Kafit."   
  
The andilite nodded, sweeping into a graceful bow. //Pleased to meet you Prince Jake. My parents told me about you. They wanted me to bring you a copy of Elfangor's Hirac Delest. And they have specifically ordered me to follow your leadership until war's end.//   
  
"Pleased to meet you Ezimili." Jake shook her hand.   
  
Ezimili blinked at the gesture. //Did I miss some kind of ritual?//  
  
"Its convention Ezimili, to shake hands when meeting a new person."  
  
//Ah, I will have much to learn.// Ezimili answered. //I watched the human Television, searching for news, in order to learn basic courtesy, but I fear I have missed this one.//  
  
//I have never heard of a blockade courier.// Ax said calmly. //Is it a new kind of ship?//   
  
//Yes, it is a smaller version of a blockade runner.// Ezimili explained. //It is meant to land small amounts of troops or supplies, as well as become a ground based communications center, however, it has no weapons. If I had been attacked, I would have been killed. My ship, thankfully, was meant to come out of zero space in the upper atmosphere of a planet. It was mere children's play.//   
  
//Ezimili, what was your specialty in combat?// Ax asked. //Our main weapon in this battle is morphing technology.//   
  
//How convenient.// Ezimili laughed. //That was my combat specialty at the academy.//   
  
"It looks like she'll get along fine here." Marco chuckled. "You've got a new companion Ax."  
  
I smiled. Then Ax said something I wish he hadn't. //Max, if you are up for one more morph, I would like to explain your situation to Ezimili, but I think best while running.//   
  
I nodded and focused on the Andilite morph. What first, Tail! I focused on the Tail appearing first! Ezimili's stalk eyes shot upward in surprise. Not before I was halfway through the morph. Four legs first, back hooves next, fur rolling up my body with the changes, I morphed slowly. I was a very odd sight. Picture me Andilite from the waist down, with fur slowly rolling up my body, spreading into my hands. The extra fingers sprouted when the fur reached my hands.   
  
The fur reached my face and I felt my jaws lock together. At the same time I felt two new hearts spread through my body, beating, thumping with joy. My internal organs were rearranging to deal with grass instead of hamburgers, water instead of soda. My lungs grew and expanded, becoming larger, stronger.   
  
The fur inched up my face. I was clinging, I realized, clinging to humanity. I sighed, letting my nose flatten and divide into two large and one small slit. My hair melted into my head, replaced instead with eyes on stalks.   
  
I felt the power of the tail, held erect and hovering about shoulder length. I felt the strength of legs that could carry me for days and miles. I felt hearts that leapt with the joy of being alive! I tasted the grass beneath my feet and saw everybody, everything around me without even having to turn around.   
  
I tried moving my jaw, but of course I couldn't, so I spoke in my head. //I'm ready to go Ax.//  
  
Ezimili smiled, arching her tail blade. //This is an andilite handshake, clash your tailblade to mine!//   
  
I did as I was told, CLANG! Ezimili met my blade with energy and purpose. She did the same to Ax, and so did I, then we were away across the meadow!  
  
Night after night  
  
Carving it out  
  
//Meet you in a few hours!// Ezimili called.   
  
I heard Tyson say, "You know, he moves like he was one, but that ability to control morphing is way, way too cool."   
  
Ax shook his head. //Where to begin, where to begin?//  
  
//It started with a training mission to look at an underground passage that our friend Tobias found.// I explained. //Tobias is a nothlit, he's kind of like our spy. He spends his days following known controllers and mapping yeerk pool entrances. What he found was a hidden entrance to an andilite sanctuary filled with andilite plants and statues of the bit beasts that we call Dark Dranzer and Dragoon.//   
  
//What and what? What's a bit beast?//  
  
I sighed and explained about the sport of Beyblades. //Many bit beasts are recognizable by description, at least, the more famous ones are. Dragoon is one such famous beast, my friend Tyson is currently its keeper. Dark dranzer is not famous, but infamous. It is said to possess anyone who uses it. Our team Captain, Kai, sealed Dark Dranzer away with a soul seal. In order for Dark Dranzer to break free and possess somebody else it would have to kill Kai.//  
  
//And a captain is like a prince?// Ezimili asked. //That is a very brave thing for Prince Kai to do, I can see why seeing such a familiar face would be frightening, go on.//  
  
//We had gained the morphing power a few days before, and since then I've been dreaming about andilites, dreaming things that I couldn't possibly know. And I've had flashes, even before I acquired this morph, of parts of me suddenly being andilite. We found a possible lead about the andilite who made the cave, which we named, the Grotto. The lead led to Mr. Dickinson, the leader of the BBA, who was proven not to be a controller, and yet knows about the fight between andilite and yeerk. He said that the andilite princess who made the cave died in a fire, ironically caused by Kai as a baby and Dark Dranzer.//  
  
Ezimili looked at me, all four eyes suddenly. //Who was this princess of which you speak?//   
  
//Judin Olarn Sorath, she was, as your people thought, not killed on the hork bajir world, she was killed in the fire.//  
  
//A fire? NO! Judin was originally assigned to the fire fighting team on the andilite and yeerk worlds as an aristh and a warrior, before becoming a princess and a captain. That she be killed by a fire is inconceivable!//   
  
//Max's Garibah confirmed the story, as did the records in what was left of Judin's fighter.// Ax explained. //However, Prince Kai believes that the record was forged. We were discussing where to go from here when Toby Hame arrived to tell us you had come.//  
  
Ezimili eye smiled. //Prince Kai is a very smart human. Judin probably found some way to disappear and forge the record, the question is HOW?// She asked. //Judin was my sister, and the only female to reach the rank of war princess. She was promoted to prince after evacuating our base on the yeerk world, two of your years later she was assigned to the hork bajir world. If you think Aximili, that you are the only one with a shadow to live in, Elfangor did to, he lived in Judin's. Judin probably disappeared by morphing. She was a powerful estreen and a formidable warrior.//   
  
//That does not dismiss the fact that there are four humans, not controllers, who know about our existence.// Ax explained. He leapt over a fallen log. //And what of Max's trouble? If I didn't know better, I'd say his Andilite morph is causing these dreams and flashes, the Olarn Faron effect that we learned in school, but that should end when he demorphs, and it didn't.//  
  
Ezimili shrugged. //I remember stumbling over an entertainment broadcast in which a pointy eared human in a blue uniform once said, 'When we have eliminated the impossible, what ever remains, however improbable, must be true.'//  
  
I laughed inwardly at the thought of an andilite watching Star Trek. //Live long and prosper.// I chuckled.   
  
//I think Ezimili sister, that you have stumbled onto the joys of human television.// Ax chuckled.   
  
I will carry it down to the waterside  
  
That evening we gathered around the holographic transmitter. Ezimili pressed a sort of headset behind my ear. She put one on all of the others. Finally, she moved to the control panel and pressed out an access code and a few numbers in a language that I didn't understand, but realized was andilite.   
  
//Ezimili, you made it!// Two andilites appeared in front of us. The Hork Bajir gathered around to hear the discourse. We were sitting in a half circle around them. Jake and Kai were a little bit in front, I was slightly behind, because they would be speaking about me.   
  
Ax stood up. //Prince Jake, these are my father, Noorlin Sirenial Coraff, and my mother Forlay Esgarrouth Maheen.//  
  
"Pleased to meet you." Jake said politely. "This is the lieutenant I'm training, Kai. He's captain of the Beyblade team known as the Blade Breakers."   
  
//Bey? In our language Bey means spirit!// Forlay exclaimed.   
  
//My mother is a linguist.// Ax said proudly. //And my father helps make escafil devices. He knows every last piece and equation that goes into their make.//  
  
"These are the members of my Team." Jake gestured to each in turn. "My best friend Marco, my cousin Rachel, Rachels' friend Cassie, Tobias was on a mission, so he couldn't come, and of course your son."   
  
"These are my team." Kai followed Jake's lead nervously. "Rei, our strategist Max, Tyson, our technician Kenny, and Hillary."   
  
//You will have to tell me about these Beyblades of yours'.// Forlay said eagerly. //Are they, as implied, spirit blades?//  
  
"Sort of." I said with a nervous chuckle. "Some beyblades have spirits, they're called Bit Beasts, hang on." I pulled out my Beyblade and let Draciel out. "Come on out Draciel!" Draciel appeared, arching an eyebrow inquiringly. Sometimes I wondered just how much of what was going on did Draciel understand? "This is a bit beast, they're all different, and each one picks just the right beyblader. Beyblades began with research in gyroscopes. But the more we learn about you andilites, the more I think that an andilite somewhere along the line influenced the game and its technology."   
  
//That may be true.//  
  
//Mother, I have good news and bad news.// Aximili said calmly.   
  
I will crawl through my past  
  
Over stones blood and glass  
  
In the ruins  
  
Ax told them everything we know, including my disturbing dreams. They looked at each other. //We knew that our daughter was too stubborn to die.// Noorlin laughed. //She's a regular two spirit that one!//  
  
"A what?"   
  
//A girl with the spirit of a boy.// Noorlin answered.   
  
"Kind of like a transsexual?"   
  
//That used to be the term, I think a closer definition is a tomboy.// Forlay explained. //My daughter earned her princess rank by supervising the evacuation of our forces on the surface of the yeerk world. You see, I find it very unlikely that she would have been killed in a mere domestic fire.//   
  
Reaching under the fence  
  
As I try to make sense   
  
In the ruins   
  
"You think she's still alive?" Jake asked.   
  
//I think she might be closer than you think.// Noorlin said with an eye smile.   
  
Ax jumped. //But the odds against it are approximately 3 Billion ninety nine million two thousand and one!//  
  
"Ax man, we humans have something called the law of averages. It states that anything will happen that can." Marco was looking at me meaningfully.   
  
"Waaaaaaiiiiiit a minute!" I protested. "You're saying that my mother is an alien who was trapped in human morph, but managed to demorph enough to give me all these strange powers?"   
  
Marco smirked. Ax blinked, looking thoughtful. "BECAUSE I'M TELLING YOU THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "I'M A PERFECTLY NORMAL HUMAN BEING AND BEYBLADER WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO HAVE A HIGH EMPATHY RATING!!!"   
  
But if I am to heal   
  
I must first learn to feel   
  
In the ruins   
  
I got up, threw off the transmitter, and ran away. I morphed Wolf and I just ran, ran and ran and ran. I didn't care about time limit anymore. My mind whirled in confusion. I saw red sky and blue, blue grass and green! The lines between reality became blurred, confused. All the time my mind screamed, 'WHY WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY!!!!'   
  
Everything I knew about reality, about who and what I was, was reduced to ruins that one, fateful night.   
  
I will crawl   
  
I will crawl  
  
Through the ruins!  
  
~tbc~  
  
SOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBBB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO CLAMP NO!!  
  
Marco: What's wrong?  
  
(sob, sniffle) Clamp killed of Shuichiro in Wish!! Pooooorrr Kohaku!!! BWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Rachel: Well that's what you get for reading volume one of that new comedy Reality Check! Which is absolutely hilarious, and following it up with the last volumes of Animorphs and Wish.  
  
Marco: You read three books in a day?  
  
Yeah what's the problem with that?  
  
Marco: As Fate IV would say, 'You're a Horror Unimagined by Man.'   
  
Right, time to go and start the next chapter. 


	13. East west home is best

The Generation  
  
Chapter 12- Max  
  
The next two days passed in a haze. I spent them in the Hork Bajir valley, but I lost my interest in the Andilite morph. I practiced my lion morph instead, leaping upward, leaping forward, attacking bundles of sticks shaped like Hork Bajir and Taxxons. Ax didn't mention anything more about the call. I slept late. I used my wolf morph to hunt food. I used the bird morph to fish in the river, even though red tailed hawks aren't very good at fishing. I survived, I listened to the Hork Bajir tell their stories by the campfire and helped them gather wood. I acquired a Hork Bajir and learned how to strip bark from them. The others had all acquired a Hork Bajir before they left, probably because Rachel and Tobias each had one. I wasn't sure, and I didn't care.   
  
Ezimili trained with us. We went into the mountains on Tuesday morning so that she could acquire morphs. We got her a wolf, a Hork Bajir, a mountain lion, and a Big Horned Sheep, sturdy mountain animals. I acquired the cougar and the sheep, but I didn't think that I'd need them.   
  
I waited until Tobias came sailing into the Valley Wednesday Morning at around eleven. //Hey Max! Ax! And Ezimili is that you?//  
  
//Yes, you must be Tobias, I read about you in Elfangor's Hirac Delest. Have you come to bring us to Cassie's barn?//  
  
//Yeah, I mean, Max and I will be flying, and probably Ax too, but you might want to acquire something more powerful than a red tail in the air.// Tobias called down. //Come on up Max! The thermals are fine!//   
  
"Gladly!" I shouted upward. "I could use a fly!" And I began to morph.   
  
//Hey Toby! Good to see you! Jake says that its okay for Max to go back now.// Tobias shouted down, before he landed on Toby's horns.   
  
"I am glad to see you Tobias my friend." Toby said with a smile.   
  
"Friend Tobias, good to see!" Jara Hame grinned. I had almost gotten used to Alien expressions.  
  
But the suspense was too much. As soon as I could use thoughtspeak I asked. //Tobias, is my mom a controller?// I asked.  
  
//Nope! Didn't go anywhere near any of the yeerk pools. But you want to be careful, she almost walked in on Erek.//  
  
//I will.// I answered as I lifted off into the sky. Tobias followed. We soared over the barrier and waited while Ax and Ezimili squeezed through the narrow pass into the valley.   
  
//Here we go sis.// Ax grinned with his eyes. We ran and flew. Tobias circled in the direction opposite me.   
  
I asked Tobias. //Do you think you could track the All Starz for me first?//   
  
//Sure, Jake is thinking that bringing Beyblade teams into the fight may be a good idea. If that's it then we'll start with the ones in America. Especially since the yeerks haven't penetrated as far as Japan, for example, or China. They haven't even gotten as far as New York yet, as far as we know.// Tobias screamed for the sheer joy of being alive.   
  
I followed his example, weaving and ducking around the air currents, and when I got high enough I dove, a bullet! The wind whipped my feathers and I screamed in joy. I was a hawk on the breeze. In this realm of sky and forest and mountain there was nowhere I couldn't fly. I looked down at every rock and tree. I saw them. Flashes of familiar faces in familiar places. Were these my mother's memories?   
  
I couldn't help but think that the whole thing was crazy. The elemist probably just wanted me to do something to help the andilites. That was probably it. Just a crazy dream given by a crazy omnipotent alien. I wasn't really an the son of an andilite nothlit.   
  
//Yo! Max! Time to demorph man! You've got fifteen minutes left!// Tobias' comment about time jerked me out of my trance.   
  
School had just let out when we made if back to Cassie's farm. "Hey Max! Glad you're back!" Tyson said happily. I ran to him, throwing my arms gratefully around his neck.   
  
"Tyson! I missed you so much! Guess what? I got three new morphs! And Ezimili got a wolf morph, a big horn sheep and a mountain lion! Ax acquired the big horn and the mountain lion too! And we all got a Hork Bajir morph."   
  
"Welcome to the team Ezimili." Cassie grinned. "Have you checked out your new morphs yet?"  
  
//Yes. I am glad to be here. This will be my first combat position.// Ezimili explained. //The mountain lion has superb reflexes, but I believe the wolf has more endurance.//   
  
"That's true." Cassie smiled. "The wolf is my combat choice, but so far we've been trying not to go for repeats if we can." She was bustling about the cages, checking bandages, food and water, making notations in the margins of the clipboard. "You'll need a bird morph, a human morph, and a combat morph that's slightly more powerful than the mountain lion. An insect morph might be a good idea, but you can get that just about anywhere."  
  
//Why not? If one morph works why not have a few of them?//  
  
"That was Kai's idea actually, to keep shifting combat forms." Jake nodded respectfully at Kai. "He thought that it would keep the yeerks guessing about our numbers."   
  
//That makes sense.// Ezimili answered. //Prince Kai appears to have great common sense for a human. From what I saw from human transmissions in orbit, it is a trait that many of you seem to lack.//   
  
Rachel snorted. "Yeah, like Marco here."   
  
"Yeah like Rachel here." Marco said at the same time.   
  
Ezimili laughed. //I enjoy unpredictability actually. It makes a nice change from the same old thing.//   
  
Kenny chuckled. "Unpredictability is the name of the game."   
  
//What game?// Ezimili asked, searching the cages for a bird of prey morph.   
  
"The game, its an... idiomatic phrase." He said, pausing to find the right term. "That's why we usually send Tyson in last. His tactics are unpredictable and his Bit Beast is our most powerful."   
  
//Ah, what bird morph would you suggest Cassie?// Ezimili asked.   
  
"Well, we've been thinking of sending you to keep an eye on the Blade Breakers, so I'd suggest either the Peregrine Falcon or the Golden Eagle, they've both got a pretty much world wide range. The Peregrine falcon is more agile and easier to control. The golden eagle is less maneuverable, and has stronger instincts, but it has very good endurance." She explained.   
  
//Ah, but Tyson and Rei both have a golden eagle. I think I will pick the falcon.// Ezimili answered.   
  
"Cool!" Jake exclaimed. "Kai and I both have one."   
  
//Then it is indeed the right choice.// Ezimili said with an eye smile as she moved over to the cage.   
  
Ezimili finished acquiring the falcon morph. //If its alright, I think I will retire to the scoop with my brother and catch up on news. Tomorrow I'll try the falcon morph.//   
  
"Great." Jake gave her a friendly thump on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow then."   
  
I made it back home and collapsed on the bed. I lay there, absolutely exhausted, and cried.   
  
~Emily~  
  
I was heading downstairs that night to get a drink when I heard something stirring in Max's room. I opened the door a crack to see. Max was thrashing in his sleep, moaning, "Alloran no! Aldrea come back! Dak where are you! Please don't die!"   
  
I slipped into the room. "Must... get out... they're coming!... Yeerks coming... They have... Aldrea... Virus... can't let... demorph... now do it now!"   
  
I sighed, the scene of Max babbling in his sleep had gone on enough. "Max wake up!" I hissed.   
  
"Aldrea?" Max murmured.   
  
"No, Emily you idiot baka-yaro! Wake UP you were having a NIGHTMARE!" I snarled.   
  
Max sat up in his bed. "Emily?" He gasped. The look of fear on his face was evident. It was like I'd witnessed something forbidden. "How much did you hear?" He demanded guardedly.   
  
"Something about Aldrea, Alloran, and Dak. Something about a Virus and demorphing." I answered.   
  
Tyson stirred in his sleep, right leg motoring away like a dog. Max looked anxiously over at him. "Thanks Emily, its probably just a meaningless nightmare."   
  
Then why was the look an Max's face so frightened?  
  
~note~  
  
Short I know, but this is the calm before all Hell breaks loose.   
  
Also, delayed reaction disclaimer: I do not own "Ruins" by Melissa Etheridge. 


	14. But I can feel the thunder, underneath m...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 13- Tobias  
  
I sailed over the school searching for Emily. We had decided that since they were closest to home, the All Starz would be brought in next. There were two problems, what order, and how to convince Judy that their participation was a good thing. Me, I thought that since, in the week that the Blade Breakers had joined us, there had been no "David Type" incidences, that we should clear them all first and bring them in at once.   
  
Emily was a definite over achiever. In the first two classes alone she'd gotten back five or so papers. All of them had gotten a perfect score. She was currently in science class and bossing her team around the laboratory like she owned them.   
  
Were I human I would have rolled my eyes. She reminded me of Rachel, always into everything, always leading the way, plowing forward.   
  
Not that she looked like Rachel. Emily had orange/red hair that went to her chin and framed her face. She wore glasses and had eyes that were a sort of teal color. The resemblance was in the way that they carried themselves, confident, aloof, poised for action.   
  
I sailed into the tree near the baseball field next and listened to the other All Starz talking with her. Emily had her finger in Michael's face and glared at him. "You'd better not show off this time Michael. I've told you time and again, and Judy has too, concentrate on the game, not on the simpering airheads fawning at you from the front row! Now get out there and pitch goddess damnit!"   
  
She shoved Michael towards the mound. Jake was carefully planting his feat in just the right position at home plate. //Good luck Jake.// I whispered.   
  
He searched the trees, saw me, and smiled, before getting into position. "SWING BATTA BATTA BATTA!" Michael took a few experimental swings before letting loose a fast ball that would have dented steel.   
  
CRACK! Jake sent it flying back towards the gym but it was... "FOUL BALL!" Steve cried. He was umpire for the day.   
  
//Sorry Jake, I must have cursed you there.//   
  
"KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL JAKE!!" Cassie shouted from the bleachers. "YOU CAN BEAT THIS GUY!!"  
  
"YEAH BIG JAKE!!" Marco mocked. "COME ON JAKE YOU OAF! REMEMBER WHAT I TAUGHT YOU ABOUT FAST BALLS!"   
  
Jake spat, gulped, and took up a new grip on the bat. "You're pretty good!" Michael called to him. "I was team captain in NYC! All you need is to hit it in the right direction!"   
  
"THANKS!" Jake called over.   
  
I heard the girls giggle. "OH WOW! He's cute!"   
  
"Which one? They're both wicked hot!"   
  
Michael grinned out of the corner of his eye. The girls giggled and whispered to each other. And that did it. Michael threw, but he wasn't paying attention to the game anymore. His fast ball had lost its thunder. Jake hit a hard, high home run. With three batters on base, Jake hit a homer! He ran as fast as he could for the first base.   
  
Michael snarled, catching the ball that was thrown to him from outfield. He rocketed it, without stopping to first base. Jake cried out in surprise and slid. Steve sauntered over to examine the situation. "Sorry Mikey, I think he's safe on this one!"   
  
Michael cursed, throwing his hat on the ground. Uht oh. Maybe we shouldn't let this guy in after all. I mean, I knew that the All Starz' tempers were legendary, Steve's most of all, but if this was any indication... Maybe the wouldn't like Jake telling them what to do.   
  
Then, when the game was over, Michael, Eddy, Steve, and Emily came over to Jake and smiled. One by one they shook his hand and said, "Good game."   
  
Michel went last, but he grinned widest of all. "You should be trying out for baseball, not basketball!"   
  
"Thanks, I'll think about that." Jake grinned back at him.   
  
Rachel, Marco, and Cassie came over, thumping Jake on the back.   
  
"Hey man! Nice work!" Marco grinned. "Its not many people that can get under Michael's fast ball."   
  
"You earned his respect." Emily muttered as she passed them, heading for the girl's locker room.   
  
Max walked in silence to the boy's locker room. Was it just me or did he look depressed? It was not at all what I'd expected. I mean, when hearing Elfangor's final testimate, I was so happy. My father, he had seen his missing son! He had given his life and his legacy to me! To me! Tobias! Nobody had trusted me with anything! It was a rosy feeling, MY FATHER DID CARE! I had wanted to scream it to the world!  
  
I had put one in the eye for Visser three! He thought that I was a homeless street punk!  
  
I happily followed Emily out to the locker room. She looked up and saw me circling the school, and then she did something that I took to be a compliment. Emily waved and shouted, "GOOD FLYING WING BROTHER!!!"   
  
I called out to her in response, "TSSSSSSSSEEEEERRRRR!" And turned a circle over the gym.   
  
I waited, and followed her to the nurse's office later that afternoon. I believe that the clinical term is dysmenorhia. Whatever it was, poor Emily was stuck on the nurse's office, moaning in pain. It was just dumb luck when I caught what happened next.   
  
Michael and the English Teacher Mr. Tidwell came leading Max into the room. "I TOLD YOU IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE!" Max protested angrily. "I fell asleep in class, had a nightmare, and fell out of my chair! That's ALL!"   
  
"I'll call coach." Michael ignored him.   
  
"Whaaaa?" Emily asked. "Can you ask her to take me home too Mike? Tell her I've got the monthly bug."   
  
"I DON'T need to go home!" Max protested. "I'M JUST FINE!"   
  
"You were screaming in your, 'sleep.'" Mr. Tidwell insisted.   
  
//Illim.// That was Mr. Tidwell's yeerk's name. Mr. Tidwell is our insider in the yeerk front. //I know what's going on, more or less, he's one of ours.//   
  
Tidwell blinked. "I think that its safest if you go home, one more outburst like that and you could hurt yourself."   
  
//Do it Max.// I told him. //I'll tell Jake, you stay right there.//  
  
"Alright!" Max capitulated.   
  
I sailed upwards. //Jake! Max collapsed in class! I think he had another one of his flashes! We're just lucky that it was Tidwell and not anybody else! I'm on it! Don't arouse suspicion!//   
  
Jake wrote in the margin of his planner. /Check class./  
  
//I will,// I agreed.   
  
/I'll come by after school./ Jake wrote. /Keep on Max and Emily both!/ Then he erased that note.   
  
//I will!// I said, and sped away.   
  
Nope, the class was in an uproar, but none of them were known controllers. None of them were in the Sharing either. That was a welcome relief. I'd have to explain it to the Blade Breakers. That was my next message. In private thoughtspeak I called down. //Kai, Tyson, Rei, Kenny, Hillary, Max had another one of his flashes in class! Be absolutely careful! We're going to have to keep on our guard for the next couple of days! But don't give away your cover! I'm on him and Emily both! Jake is going to come by after school! You'll have to warn Judy that Jake is coming over, but don't tell her that he's one of us! Marco and I can't come in now that she knows, or guesses what we are! Breaking contact now!//   
  
I sailed back to the tree outside the nurse's office just in time for Judy to pull up the Escalade with the screech of brakes. She ran in, pausing only to sign in before rushing to the nurse's office. I listened. "Thank you Mr. Tidwell, I'll take them both."   
  
"No problem. Emily, are you well enough to get your things or should I have Michael do it?" Mr. Tidwell asked. "Its actually rather convenient for me, now I don't have to call two numbers." He smiled.   
  
"Michael, be a considerate little boy and get my things. Otherwise as soon as I can stand I WILL pound you!" Emily growled.   
  
"Yes miss cheerful." Michael leered back. He left.   
  
I would have rolled my eyes. If Emily were Rachel what did that make Michael? Marco?   
  
I got a head start on Judy by about ten minutes and made it to the house just in time for Judy to tuck both Emily and Max in. She brought Emily a heating pad and some crackers and juice. However, her reaction to Max being sick was almost humorous.   
  
By the time the Blade Breakers and Jake got there Max was almost buried in pillows, stuffed animals, and hot water bottles. He had the thermometer sticking out of his mouth and his glare as Tyson, Kenny, and Hillary giggled at him was almost murderous.   
  
I landed in a tree from which I could watch both Emily and the impromptu meeting. //You're lucky Max. The teacher is a controller spy for us. If it had been Chapman you'd have been down to the yeerk pool before you could say it wasn't me!//   
  
"I don't usually use foul language." Max said, spitting out the thermometer. "But this sucks! I can't even put my head down in class without screaming about viruses and yeerks and Aldrea or Alloran or Dak! I don't even know who these people are!"   
  
//Aldrea and Dak were the leaders of the Hork Bajir army during the Hork Bajir war. And Alloran was infamous for releasing a quantum virus during the last battle on the Hork Bajir world. He's now the host body for the leader of the yeerk invasion of Earth, Visser three.// I explained. //Max, every yeerk knows their names! You have to be really careful!//  
  
"I CAN'T EXACTLY CONTROL IT!" Max protested angrily, sitting straight up in bed. "What am I supposed to do? Stay awake for the rest of my life?"  
  
"Max calm DOWN!" Rei hissed. "Your mother will HEAR you!"   
  
Kai shook his head. "Max, you're staying home until this is resolved, no practice, no nothing, just focus on getting better."   
  
"I AM BETTER!" Max said frantically. "I just want these dreams to stop!" He began to sob in panic. "I sleep and I'm not even me anymore! I'm always somebody else! Always running from a virus, always struggling to demorph before it kills me! Always hurtling through some kind of blank whiteness! I just want it to STOP!"   
  
"Max we can't do anything about it! We know next to nothing about how the morphing technology works!" Jake protested. "Look, I'll ask Ax what he thinks of it, or Ezimili, they'll probably at least know something. But all of you, you have to be careful not to give away your cover!"   
  
//What you saw was from the Hork Bajir War.// I explained. //We know that Judin was in charge there, and that Alloran betrayed her. Aldrea was trapped as a hork bajir. She and the Hork Bajir seer, Dak Hame, had a son named Seerow Hame, after Aldrea's father. Seerow had a son named Jara Hame, the same Jara Hame in the Hork Bajir meadow. Toby Hame is his daughter, the descendant of Aldrea and Dak. She's infamous in the Yeerk Empire. She was named for me. I'm not trying to boast, but I really do strike fear into the hearts of most controllers. And then, of course, there's me. My father was Prince Elfangor. Elfangor spent some time on Earth in Human morph. He was trapped until the Elemist brought him back to the Andilite world and gave him the power to morph back, as well as his own body. Max if you're feeling upset about your mother Judy, just know that you're not alone.// I told him.   
  
Why had I said that? Of course he was alone! He was the only one of the three of us who was having nightmares about our ancestors' battles! Did I have nightmares about Elfangor? Did Toby dream of Aldrea's death, or Seerow's? NO! Neither of us did! Max was new, he didn't have the experience that we did when dealing with Alien legends, history, politics, society! All the things that we knew so well, all the terms that we use every day were completely new to him! Of course he was alone! Of course he wasn't okay!   
  
"Look, Max, I'm not going to lie to you." Jake told him. "We've all been through a lot of shit. And you guys are probably going to have to learn what we did the hard way. We'll tell you as much as we can, but there's still a lot that we don't know."   
  
Max tried to choke back his tears. "I know, I'm trying to be strong." He sniffed. "But... but I mean... this is so weird. My own mother has a secret that she won't let me in on! I trusted her! And now she's hiding from me! But she's NOT an andilite! There's no way she could be an andilite!"   
  
Hillary snorted, Kai rolled his eyes. "Max just be careful!"   
  
"I'll talk to Ax and Ezimili, they're practicing their new morphs now." Jake got up.   
  
Tyson sat down on the bed and pulled Max into his arms, murmuring soft, comforting things to him. Max turned around and snuggled his head against Tyson's chest. None of the other Blade Breakers saw the tears of confusion on his face. But you see, I'm a hawk.   
  
Hawks don't miss much.   
  
I hopped a few levels down to hear Max's mother singing softly while she made dinner.   
  
"Don't be afraid  
  
Close your eyes  
  
Lay it all down  
  
Don't you cry  
  
Can't you see I'm going  
  
Where I can see the sun rise  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that it's alright."   
  
Her voice was so beautiful. I stopped and listened. I'm not sure what I thought at that moment. If I were human, I would have cried. I thought that somehow, listening would give me an insight into this strange, reclusive andilite.   
  
"I've always had to run.  
  
I don't know just why  
  
Desire slowly smoking  
  
Under the midwest sky  
  
But there's something out there  
  
That says I have to try  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that its alright."   
  
/Its not alright Judy./ I thought. /The world needs you. Don't you realize that? How can you stand by and not do anything? Do you think that it protects Max? Do you think that holding him back will keep him from being infested, or killed, when it finally comes down to it?/   
  
"This town thinks I'm crazy  
  
They just think I'm strange  
  
Sometimes they want to own me  
  
Sometimes they wish I'd change"  
  
What species were you thinking of Judin? The andilite society that claims you have two spirits? Or is it human society that you hide from? You wish that you could change too don't you? You wouldn't be a human if you could return to your andilite form would you?   
  
"But I can feel the thunder  
  
Underneath my feet  
  
I sold my soul for freedom  
  
It's lonely but it's sweet."  
  
Well spoken Judin, well sung Judy. Are you like me? Are you content to be what you are? Don't you long, sometimes at least, to run free under the sky? You sold your soul for freedom? Whose? Your's? The Hork Bajir's? Maybe the freedom of this 'Tala' who's life you saved? Did you sell your soul for all of them maybe? If you are so alone, you know the way out. Do you take comfort in our presence? Or are you afraid that the Andilites will take away what is precious to you if you give in to them, to us?  
  
"Don't be afraid  
  
Close your eyes  
  
Lay it all down  
  
Don't you cry  
  
Can't you see I'm going  
  
Where I can see the sun rise  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that it's alright."   
  
It's not all right Judy. It will never be all right. As long as you hide, Max will be tortured, not only by your distrust, by your holding him back, but also by your sad dreams of defeat and despair.  
  
Emily was asleep, being too sick to eat. Jake left shortly before dinner. //Jake, you might want to talk to Ax tonight. There's an alley a few blocks down that the Blade Breakers use to morph in. Why don't you use that?//   
  
"Thanks Tobias." He was alone, so it was all right to talk. "I think I'll use it. Then I'll come back and get my things."   
  
I settled on Emily's windowsill and tucked my head under my wing. 


	15. Game Over

The Generation  
  
Chapter 14- Kai  
  
Three days later, we were greeted by Mr. Chapman. He had given me a flyer. Appearantly Mr. Dickinson was planning an exhibition game between the All Starz and us, it would be followed by a weeklong Beyblades convention and a huge dance party each night. (As if I'd ever dance!) That was part of the reason why we'd transferred here. What Mr. Dickinson hadn't told us was that it was sponsored by the yeerk front organization, the Sharing.  
  
Jake had explained the circumstances of Chapman's sacrifice to Visser three. You know, I really wish that my Grandfather would be willing to do that for me, but you know what? Voltaire was an asshole, plain and simple. And you know what else?   
  
There are days when I want to be an asshole too.   
  
"So why didn't you tell me that there were controller spies?" I demanded. "You almost gave me a heart attack! And how can we trust him not to turn us?" I jabbed a finger at Mr. Tidwell.   
  
"Because Illim's tip-offs have saved out lives before." Jake answered. "Mr. Tidwell, I assume that you didn't come here just because you need to arrange a retest for Cassie's English Exam?"   
  
"That is correct." Illim's stance and manner was completely different from Mr. Tidwells. I understood now what Cassie meant by saying that yeerks were the greatest actors in the Galaxy. "Visser three found Dragoon and Flash Leopard on satellite awhile back. He's been curious about Beyblades ever since he identified the name as being andilite in origin. He's going to take advantage of the event to try and kidnap one member of each of the main teams."   
  
"He's going to take one member each of the All Starz..." Max's expression curled into a snarl of rage. "The Tigers..." Rei stiffened, growling in reaction to what he perceived as a threat... "The Majestics, The Demolition Boys, the Saint Shields, Team Psykick, one of you, and the two individuals going by the names of Zeo and Wyatt."   
  
"Game over." Tyson said grimly.   
  
Wyatt wasn't so bad, when he stopped being a whining groupie. Zeo was Tyson's problem.   
  
//I take it this is not a good thing?// Ezimili and Ax asked at once.   
  
"That list... Ax if he took them all, those are the most powerful teams in the BBA. Nobody else would have a chance! And he could use their contacts to spread the invasion to other countries!" Tyson ranted.   
  
"They get them its game over. They'd have the European Union from the Majestics, Russia from the Demolition Boys, China from the Tigers. They'd reach New York. They'd have a foot hold in Japan, where the Saint Shields, the Psykicks, and us are the top three." I answered. "Then from there they'd spread to the smaller teams, Jose' in Mexico for example, or what's left of the Blade Sharks, The Dark Bladers would be the second European target once they took the Majestics. They'd be too much a threat to the Majestics, he has been before and the two teams do NOT get along."   
  
"Tobias how many of the All Starz have you managed to clear?" Jake asked. I registered the urgency in his voice.  
  
//Only Emily, I start on Eddy tonight, But Jake, I don't think that that's necessary anymore.// Tobias pointed out. //If the yeerks are talking about taking them then they aren't controllers right?//   
  
"Right." Mr. Tidwell confirmed. "New York is in the top three of their Target Cities. Japan and the Euro Union are next in line. Then once they have Japan they'll use it as a jumping off point for China." He was drawing lines from each city to the next. "Moscow is half an hour's flight by bug fighter. A yeerk pool in Paris would be able to service the Demolition boys until they'd turned Balkov abbey into their base, and it would be able to hold the Majestics and the Dark Bladers captive. China is HUGE! It would take them longer to take it, to put down a base there in proportion to its population. The next pool would probably be in Tokyo, or if they take you it would be in Kyoto."   
  
I recognized the tactic from when Tyson's grandfather had taught us Go. Tyson had begun his first game by drawing a line in black stones across the middle of the board. "It's a chain." I observed. "They're cutting the planet in half."   
  
"Precisely." Mr. Tidwell explained. "They could pass troops and supplies along the chain."   
  
"So what do we do?" Jake asked.   
  
I grinned wickedly. "Total disruption. We have exactly one week until the game. We train and we track. There are enough of us to keep a watch on all of those teams. I'm not trying to sound manipulative, but we'll have to use all of our contacts with the BBA."   
  
"There's an entrance to the yeerk pool in the convention center and another in the nearby Mc Donald's." Mr. Tidwell explained. "There's plenty of places to drag them into."   
  
"We'll need a rescue team for whoever is getting down there." Marco pointed out. "Lets mix it between old school and new."   
  
"How do we do that?" Tyson asked.   
  
"Draw straws." Jake answered. "We'll have Ezimili go down there to be our time keeper. We can acquire Illim and use the yeerk morph to get past the gleet bio filters that they have in place. Tobias is out because we need him to be a look out above. Also, me or Kai, who draws the short straw, the other automatically stays up. We need to be ready to shift if they decide to take Kai."   
  
"Jake, remember what happened to Aftran, how you gave her the opportunity to morph one creature and become a nothlit?" Mr. Tidwell asked.   
  
"Yes." He answered, looking up from cutting six short, and six long pieces of hay.   
  
"Would you be willing to do this again?" Tidwell asked. "Nine times?"   
  
"I'll try. Cassie, how did you transport Illim?" Jake asked. "I need details."   
  
"Plastic bag filled with water. Real yeerk up the sleeve." Cassie was drawing quick diagrams. "But I don't think that there's a need to enter the pool. We need a meeting place for us to go to and we need to make sure that everybody knows it."   
  
"Store room?" Asked Tidwell. "The weapons room is too frequent. But the food rooms are pretty much empty."   
  
"Great, do your people know where?" Asked Jake.   
  
"Yup." Answered Tidwell. "We'll get it together for your people."   
  
"What are the defenses like? Besides the filters what do they have?" I asked.   
  
"There are hunter killer robots, so bird morphs are out. They might even attack you on the ground. But their weakness is their optical lenses, if you can crack or break them..."   
  
"Or bird poop on them." Cassie put in with a small smile.   
  
"Then they'll leave you alone. There are hundreds of hork bajir. We'll send people to back you up in case there's trouble, whoever gets stuck. Tobias, since they're clear, I want Kai to be sure to introduce you to the other teams." Jake nodded at me. "So that we can track them."   
  
//How pray tell?// Asked Tobias.   
  
"By forming our own team." Jake said sheepishly. "Cassie can you come up with a name?"   
  
"Why me?"  
  
Marco shook his head. "Jake, leave this to me. How about Team Hawk?" He asked, looking smugly at Tobias.   
  
//I wouldn't mind that name. What am I, the team mascot?// Tobias asked, blinking. Was it just me, or did his hawk body look surprised.   
  
"That's exactly what you are." Marco nodded. "Cassie got her falconer's license about two weeks ago. You'll make the perfect mascot. That also means that we can fit just about the entire team in on this."  
  
"But I never learned how to beybattle!" Cassie protested.   
  
"I'll teach you." Tyson grinned, "I'll show you later."   
  
"Great." Cassie slumped.   
  
"Who'll be the team captain?" I asked, arching an eyebrow cynically.   
  
"Well, since Cassie is the only resident falconer, I was thinking that she could..."  
  
"JAAAAKKKKEEEEE!!!" Cassie protested. "All of you may know the rules for a game that entails monsters coming out of speeding tops made with some kind of weird gyroscopes, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us...."   
  
"Everybody who thinks that Cassie should be captain and defacto leader of Team Hawk, raise your hand..." Jake said.   
  
"Yes, raise your hand, raise your hand if you're sure!" Marco sang happily.   
  
"MMMAAARRRCOOOO!" Cassie was flushing deeply.   
  
"I think you'd be a great Beyblade Team Captain." Rei said defensively.   
  
In the end it was a vote of twelve to one, guess who the one was.  
  
Then it came time to draw straws. //What is this obscure human custom?// Asked Ezimili.   
  
"It's a method that we use to decide something fairly." Kenny explained. "Right, I'm holding five short and six long straws. There is no way of knowing which is long or short. Each of you draw one, except for Ezimili, who goes regardless, and Tobias, who stays regardless."   
  
Tyson drew. "OH WOW! I DREW SHORT!" He hugged the straw. "Thanks Kenny! I owe you one! Cause there is no way that I'm left behind in a fight!"   
  
Rachel drew. "Short, great."   
  
"Betcha five bucks she says lets do it." Marco whispered to Rei.   
  
"LETS GO FOR IT!" Rachel cheered.   
  
"Your turn Marco." Rachel said briskly.   
  
"Long straw, long straw, long straw." Marco muttered under his breath, closing his eyes. He drew. "YES LONG STRAW!"   
  
"Cassie?" Kenny held it out to her.   
  
Cassie gulped, and drew. "Short straw, looks like I'll be keeping Tyson and Rachel under control." She smirked.   
  
"Now that is grossly unfair." Tyson pouted.   
  
Ax drew. //I belive that this straw is long. That is too bad.//   
  
"Kai?" Kenny held out the straw.  
  
I pulled. "Short."   
  
"Have fun." Marco said, happily shaking my hand. "Go get killed instead of me. Or better yet, don't get yourself killed doing something stupid and stupidly insane."   
  
Kenny held out the straw to Hillary. "Short."  
  
"Okay then, the rest are long straws unless one of the long straws get captured." Jake nodded, content with that solution. "Illim, we need to acquire you now, those of us who don't have a yeerk morph. We all acquired Erek's yeerk, or us older kids. But the new kids need one."   
  
"Right." Tidwell held his hand to his ear. The yeerk slithered out. Tidwell, the real Tidwell, handed Illim to me, before scrubbing furiously at his ear. "Sorry, it just makes me feel... kind of empty."   
  
I didn't answer him. I closed me eyes and focused on the yeerk DNA. 


	16. The Misadventures of Cassie, Captain of ...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 15- Cassie  
  
Oh my God.   
  
All of these people were staring at ME!  
  
Cassie.   
  
Cassie of the slightly bird pooped jeans and rubber boots. I had tried to find a pair of jeans that weren't stained. In the end I had had to go shopping with Rachel. You know what Rachel is like. She even fussed over putting on make up, and buying me the right top.   
  
//What are these stupid things?// Tobias demanded, shifting uncomfortably on my shoulder.   
  
"Jesses." I whispered as we followed Mr. Dickinson to the practice dish. "Standard falconer equipment."   
  
//Uncomfortable ones at that.// Tobias hissed softly.   
  
As we passed the hallways, Tyson would greet the different teams that were coming to watch the test.   
  
"Hey Robert, how ya doin?"   
  
"Long time no see Tala my man!"  
  
"Hey Kane what's up?"   
  
"Steve, looking good."   
  
"Ozuma, sorry about beating the crap out of Flash Leopard the other day." Tyson said, like he wasn't sorry at all.  
  
"I'm sure you are." A girl with purple hair pulled back in a ponytail and bandana snapped angrily.   
  
"Oy Miriam, cut the attitude, after all, I WAS talking to Ozuma, not to YOU." Tyson sneered.   
  
"Hey punk! Why don't you mind your own business!" Snapped a kid with blonde hair, a tan, a dew rag, and way, way too many muscles.   
  
"HI DUNGA! How ya doin?" Tyson asked. "As stupid as ever I see." He whispered to Jake.   
  
"What are you doing hanging around here Mr. World Champion?" Demanded a kid about Marco's height with green hair and green eyes.   
  
"Oh! Hi Joseph, I'm here to watch Team Hawk here take their test. This is their captain Cassie, Cassie's boyfriend Jake, Jake's best friend Marco, and Jake's cousin and Cassie's best friend Rachel. Also, their mascot, Tobias the Red Tailed Hawk." Tyson said with an attempt at suave charm.   
  
Miriam squealed and glomped her happily. "YEAY! A FEMALE TEAM CAPTAIN!! THIS IS GREAT!! GIRL POWER!!"  
  
"Militant feminism manifest." Tyson whispered to Ezimili in a stage whisper.   
  
"Ah." Ezimili answered. She had acquired a human morph using Tyson's, Max's, Hillary's, Kai's, Kenny's, and Rei's DNA. For this reason her hair was blue, with streaks of gold. She had long bangs that covered her forehead, shadowing, but not obscuring her cat like eyes (which resembled Rei's only they were blue/green). The rest of her hair was as long as Rei's. She wore a leotard for a morph outfit, a school girl sailor suit over that, and a pair of suede moccasins with a thunder bird beaded on them. "What is militant feminism?" She asked. We were just lucky that she didn't mince words like Ax did.  
  
Tyson rolled his eyes, "Forget it."   
  
"Actually, I think you'd be only one of five female team captains in the league." Miriam said thoughtfully.   
  
"Miriam you're... chooking... me!" I stammered, struggling to get free.   
  
"Oops, sorry, I'll be watching your test on the observation deck, have fun!" Miriam said, letting go and waiting good-bye.   
  
"TEAM HAWK!" Called a boy about Tom's age with purple hair and wearing armor. "TEAM HAWK IT'S YOUR TURN!"   
  
"COMING!" I called, rushing down the hallway towards the playing floor.   
  
Tobias fanned his wings. //Watch it!// He cried. //I'm gonna fall off!//   
  
"Sorry." I whispered. I tripped on a fold in the rug. Tobias screamed as he barely managed to escape a crash. "Sorry Tobias, sorry! Sorry!"   
  
I picked up Tobias and stroked his head soothingly. Tobias crooned. "Sorry wing brother."   
  
The boy dusted me off. "Right, my name is Robert, captain of the Euro Union team, the Majestics. These are my teammates Enrique, Oliver, and Johnny. We'll be supervising the tryouts today. The captain of each team has to defeat one random beyblade chosen by the BBA by lottery. In order to enter, at least one member of your team needs to beat that chosen beyblader. Got it?"   
  
"One of us, defeat beyblader." I repeated. "Got it. Um... do you think you could hang onto Tobias for me?" I asked. "He's a bit skittish and I don't want to risk accidentally launching him into the air when I send out my beyblade." I said shyly.   
  
"Go ahead." I carefully untied the jesses. "Be good Tobias." I warned him.   
  
//Me? Good? Since when have I been good?// Tobias asked nobody.   
  
Robert took hold of the jesses with one hand. "Easy Tobias."   
  
//Hmm... he is easy to hang onto.// Tobias thought, fluttering up to perch on Robert's shoulder. //Must be all that armor.//   
  
"Right, your opponent today is Wyatt." Robert told me.   
  
"Pleased to meet you Wyatt." I said politely as we shook hands.   
  
We stood on either side of a large, smooth dish. It was a lot larger than the practice dishes that Kenny had trained me on over the past three days. Tobias had managed to clear Eddy, and he'd start working on Michael when we finished. With luck, he'd finish the All Starz within a day of the mission, and since the attack wasn't scheduled to happen until the last day of the convention there would be plenty of time to practice.   
  
"Pleased to meet you too, Cassie isn't it?" He asked.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Ready?" Robert asked us.   
  
"Ready!" We chorused.   
  
"Good, then three, two, one, LET IT RIP!" Robert dropped the arm that Tobias wasn't perched on.   
  
I cut loose my Beyblade. It was a combo blade that Kenny had lovingly put together. He'd made one of each kind for us, Jake's was a defensive, Marco's was endurance type, and Rachel's was an offensive blade. Between us there was, theoretically, nothing that we weren't capable of taking on.   
  
Wyatt circled around warily, his blade looking for an opening. Right Cassie, I told myself, concentrate. I ducked in, feinting an attack, then spun around the dish, up and down, gaining momentum to use against Wyatt.   
  
The blades hit, and sparks flew! Wyatt gritted his teeth, then broke away. I kept on him, shoving him upwards. Wyatt's blade resisted all the way. Then just when it was almost on the lip, Wyatt shoved my blade back down. I rolled easily backward to just beneath the opposite lip. "Wyatt, you're neglecting the main principle of a bird's flight, altitude equals SPEED!" I shouted as I turned my attack around, turning altitude in the edge of the dish into momentum.   
  
Wyatt's blade was too slow to react. He had made the mistake of breaking off his attack too soon. I watched the expression of horror on his face as my Beyblade collided with his in a burst of speed and sent his beyblade rocketing out of the dish. It landed oh, about five feet away.  
  
"CASSIEEEEEE!!!" Rachel cried, pulling me into a bear hug. "YOU DID ITYOUDIDITYOUDIDIT!"   
  
"um... yeah." I flushed in embarrassment. "I did, I did do it... I made it! I made it!" I grinned. "Oh wow that was a rush!"   
  
"I TOLD you you were good at Beyblading!" Tyson rolled his eyes. "But did you believe me? Noooooo! Go ahead, don't listen to the world champion and waste all of that potential!"   
  
"That was a pretty good game. I'll have to try that rebound trick of your's." Wyatt said as he shook hands.   
  
"Oh, well, you learn something new every day I guess." I said, blushing. If he knew that that was a fluke...  
  
"Well." Robert handed Tobias back to me. "That was a pretty good match."   
  
"Come with me and I'll make up your membership I.D. Have you worked on a team shield?" Asked one of his counterparts wearing armor. He had green hair, and I could just make out a blue hat and a pair of goggles under his helmet. "My name is Oliver. If you have any questions, just come to me. If you need to get into a meeting or a BBA sponsored event, you need to show your I.D. There's a beyblade's ball coming up in the evenings in about a week. Tyson will give you the details. But if you and Jake are really serious you might want to check it out." He said with a wink.   
  
Oliver was small and lean. "Oliver, how old are you? You talk like you've been in the BBA a long time." I said suddenly, nervously.   
  
"I'm fourteen, and I've been beyblading since I was eight. They won't let you into the main league of the BBA until you're ten, although they have a junior league for beginners and kids." Oliver led us to a machine. "Here we are." He said with a reassuring smile.   
  
I was playing the part of the nervous newcomer pretty well I think. Oliver pointed out a scanner. "Place the design for your team badge on the scanner.   
  
Our badge had a drawing of Tobias striking from the front, and beneath it were the letters, "TEAM HAWK" In a font that looked suspiciously like the ripping of claws. The banner behind it was black and white. (A/N: You know, like the Animorphs banners you see on the merchandise?)   
  
Oliver whistled appreciatively. "Wow, pretty good art."   
  
"I drew it." Ezimili said proudly. "It took awhile, and Tobias almost gouged my eyes out before we'd gotten a good picture of him. I had to use a poloroid."   
  
"Right, lets see, members?"   
  
"Cassie______"  
  
"Rachel______"  
  
"Jake________"  
  
"Marco_______"   
  
"Address?" Oliver arched an eyebrow.  
  
We gave it to him.  
  
"Mascot?" Oliver asked.  
  
"Tobias, a red tailed hawk." I answered.   
  
"Age?" Oliver went on.  
  
"Fourteen."  
  
"Fourteen."  
  
"Fourteen."  
  
"Fourteen." We all answered.   
  
"Right..." Oliver removed his gauntlets to make typing easier. "Any bit beasts?"   
  
"Not yet." I said nervously.   
  
"Well then, I'll just add date of registration and you're..." Oliver punched the return key. "IN! Welcome to the BBA. In a few days a copy of the registration forms, a rule book, and some basic information about the game of beyblades will be sent to your house. And any second now we should be getting..."   
  
Four badges fell into a slot on the console. "Here you go." Oliver handed me a badge. On it was my name, age, a bar code, picture, and team shield. There was also a small gold "C" in the upper right hand corner. "C" for captain, I was an official Captain! "Check it out, pretty cool huh?" He asked.   
  
"Yeah." I smiled. It really was! Barely a week and a half ago I hadn't even known what a Beyblade was, let alone that they were inspired by Andilite technology. And now I was a team captain and official member!  
  
"Wow, nice." Jake grinned.   
  
"This is insane." Marco grinned, "But I like it!"   
  
"Then let's do it!" Rachel grinned. "Come on! I'll bet that somebody back in the mountains has seen bit beast carvings before! Maybe we'll be able to find one!"   
  
"OH WOW!" The two of us clung to each other, doing a little happy dance.   
  
Marco snorted. "Girls."   
  
"MARCO!" Rachel glomped him happily. "Come and do our happy dance!"   
  
"NO!" Marco cried. "I don't do happy dances, dirty dances maybe, like if this chick is eyeballing my bod, but not happy ones."   
  
I sighed. Tobias, startled, had jumped free and landed on the desk.   
  
"Come on you guys, lets go get some burgers and celebrate all of this." Jake said with a smile.   
  
That was the signal to head out. "Okay, see you around Oliver!" I grinned.   
  
~notes~  
  
Right, the trap is set for both yeerk and animorph! Lets see how they prepare for the battle.   
  
Ax: //AH!! FAITH ROSCOW CAN DIE FOR WHAT SHE DID TO CARLI!!//  
  
Marco: Huh?  
  
Ax: //I am watching the human soap opera known as General Hospital, in which a human known as Faith Roscow is brutally torturing a married woman named Carli Correntos.//  
  
Marco: (throws back his head with laughter) Ax! It's just a story!  
  
Ax: //yes, but I cannot help but think that if that were really to happen Faith Roscow would have bought her way out only to be arrested by the human policemen.//  
  
BTW: My reaction to the Sorachi vs. Taiora flame war is simple. LEAVE ME OUT OF IT! Thank You. Let me tell all you Taiora and Sorachi friends something. The only time I will play either pairing is for the sake of plot. I am a happy yaoi fan who will answer the question "Taiora or Sorachi?" quite simply. "Taito."   
  
Thank u for ur patience,  
  
The Fictor 


	17. A Majestic Morphing Blunder

The Generation  
  
Chapter 16- Jake  
  
And so we began our desperate preparations for a possible yeerk pool invasion. Tobias spent all his time either at the BBA, learning the new faces, or following some such person or another. Ezimili and Ax flew around town during the day, and spent their evenings practicing the new morphs and tail sparing. Ezimili picked a cheetah and polar bear morph for her pool morphs. The Blade Breakers practiced morphing and we practiced beyblading. The blade breakers acquired a dragon fly morph that Ezimili caught in one of the nearby marshes. Under Ax's watchful eye Max learned more and more about morphing, about andilites, and about yeerks.  
  
We shadowed the Majestics, whom we'd decided to target next. Ezimili and Oliver kept trying to top each other's artwork, sketches, music etc. I decided that as long as Ezimili didn't risk being trapped the contacts wouldn't hurt. Oliver taught her how to cook, and Ezimili picked that up too. She turned out to be way better at it than Oliver was, because of the Andilite's sensitivity to taste.   
  
The next evening the package came from the BBA. Tom was going through the mail and he said. "Hey, what's this?" He asked, holding the package above my head.   
  
"That's mine!" I protested, jumping to reach it.   
  
"Let's see... Dear Jake, Welcome to the BBA. Here is your rulebook and guide to the game. We will inform your captain, Cassie, of upcoming Tournaments. Enclosed also are instructions on how to find a bit beast, how to repair and customize your beyblade, as well as a list of common do's and don'ts." Tom read. "Please also find two tickets to the upcoming game and BBA charity ball sponsored by the Sharing. You will need your I.D. badge to get into the Ball, however, the tickets will admit up to two guests. Thank you for joining the BBA, congratulations member of Team Hawk, sincerely, Mr. Dickinson, President of the BBA!"   
  
I glared at him. He still held the package out of reach. "Wow big Jake, you're moving up in the world squirt!" Tom, Tom the controller, the yeerk in his head was acting the part, taunting his host's little brother. It made me angry beyond belief. I jumped unexpectedly and grabbed both package and letter from him. "Wow Big Jake, too bad you can't jump like that on the basketball court! You'd have made the NBA draft by now if you could!"   
  
"Leave my mail alone Tom!" I growled, running upstairs.   
  
I was halfway through the rule book when Cassie called. "Hey Jake, you know that date we'd been planning." That was a ruse of course, there was no date. "Well I'm sorry that I have to cancel on you." Cassie began, "But I've got detention with Mr. Tidwell. I'm free for the day after though. Are you?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm free." I heard a giggling on the phone. "TOM!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!"   
  
"HA HAHA! BIG JAKE AND HIS BIRD POOPED CASSIE!!"   
  
"TOM SAY ONE WORD OF THIS TO MOM AND DAD AND YOU WILL WISH THAT YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BORN!"   
  
"Okay big Jake!" Tom hung up.   
  
"Wow, somebody's in a bad mood." Cassie commented.   
  
"He's probably happy about Mr. Visser's new project. You that organization that he's into, the Sharing? He's going to start an international branch of it." I told Cassie.   
  
"Sounds okay." Cassie commented.  
  
"See you." I told her.   
  
"Bye."   
  
Oh my God. We'd thought that we'd had two weeks to prepare.   
  
Now we had less than one.   
  
~next day~  
  
"We have to what?" Cassie demanded when we dropped by the Majestics' house.   
  
"Well, you don't have to sing, but anybody who wants to is welcome to sing kareoke." Oliver said, with a wicked grin.   
  
"Well why don't we?" Max asked.   
  
"I'll help you put together the outfits. Black and red I think..." Oliver offered slyly. "Got a song in mind?"   
  
"I do I do I do!" Rachel said cheerfully. "Why don't we sing 'Meant to Live' by Switchfoot?"   
  
"Woah, Rachel, you have good taste." Marco grinned.   
  
"I can sing some." I admitted shyly.   
  
"I can sing, but I didn't ever think of it." Cassie said shyly. "And I've heard that song by Switchfoot. I have their CD. If you like I can work with you guys on it."   
  
"And now that the REAL Tobias is back in town, he can be our guest, or YOURS Rachel." Marco said slyly.   
  
"You know, that might be a good idea. And we can bring cousin Philip too."   
  
"What about you guys?" I asked the Blade Breakers.   
  
"I've got two in mind." Max said, blushing. "'Complicated' and maybe 'Drops of Jupiter.'"   
  
"Complicated!!" Oliver squealed. "I loooove that song!"   
  
"Any personal meaning to it Max?" I whispered.   
  
"Yeah." He whispered back.   
  
"So, since your symbol is the Red tailed hawk, I think I can get you some black and red clothes." Oliver left for his huge walk in closet.   
  
"I think I'd better supervise." Rachel followed him.   
  
They left. "You know." Johnny peeked up over his comic book. "There have been an aweful lot of Red Tailed Hawks around."   
  
"Really?" I asked, nonchalantly.   
  
"Yeah, one seems to have set up a territory outside of BBAHQ." Johnny arched an eyebrow at me. "I didn't know that they did that. I thought that the only Red Tail to settle in a major city was Pale Male in New York."   
  
"Well, Peregrine Falcons settle in cities." I said cheerfully. "Why not Red Tails?"   
  
"Yeah, seems that sometimes I'll see a Red Tail following us up in the sky for hours on end, and then it will disappear. Other times it will be up there for about an hour and forty-five minutes and then it will settle some where. About ten minutes later I'll see it again. I've been keeping track of its time and it's kind of odd."   
  
"Really." I said, forcing a smile. "How strange."   
  
"Oh yeah. I've noticed that Ezimili and Philip seem to disappear too, every one hour and fifty minutes. They'll come back about ten or fifteen minutes later, calm as can be."   
  
My heart was hammering in my chest. Had something gone wrong with the placement? Was Johnny a controller, a... not so friendly one? Did he guess that he was being stalked by Andilites? Or did he think that our hawk was stalking him? But that was stupid! I mean, he must know that a hawk's falconer keeps his or her bird tethered at all times!  
  
Oliver and Rachel came back a few minutes later with three garmet bags filled with outfits and shoes. "Oliver has a wardrobe to DIE for! It fills and entire ROOOM! He's got Gucci, Roca Wear, Timberlands! Ecko! Ralph Loren! He's got designers that I've never even heard of!"   
  
"Calm down Rachel." Cassie said automatically.   
  
"Come on Cassie! I want to search the internet for some of the stuff that he's got!"   
  
"We'll get back to you about the habits of Red Tails Johnny." I said with fake cheer.   
  
"He guesses." I hissed as we got into the barn. "He's suspicious!"   
  
"That's alright." Cassie said as she dug through her CD collection. "It's not for much longer, and then all of his questions will be answered."   
  
"Yeah. Man, that guy reminded me of me!" Marco shivered. "Only a lot quieter, he needs to learn to have a sense of humor!"   
  
"There's one in every group." Rachel shrugged. "We'd better keep an eye on him though. Are you sure that we can't bring them in now?"   
  
"We want to make our job easier, not harder." I told her. "No offense to the Majestics, I'm sure they're really nice, but there's no way that we could train them safely in the time remaining until the battle." I explained.   
  
"I suppose that you're right." Rachel sighed.   
  
//The Majestics have a fascinating background all.// Ezimili put in.   
  
"So Robert never hesitates to tell us." Tyson sighed. "I know he's going to be upset. They don't like being left out of things."   
  
"Just like me for example." I said smugly. "I don't like being left out of a battle because I keep having nightmares about what should be ancient intergalactic history and now seems to be coming back to haunt the current generation."   
  
//Historians hold an honored place in andilite society, as they should.// Ezimili said curtly. //I am sorry, but on our world we have a saying, 'Doomed is he who does not learn from the perspective of history.'//  
  
"Yeah, we have a saying something like that." Cassie said with a sigh.   
  
"Can we stick to topic?" I asked.   
  
Tobias jumped. //Jake, we have an intruder.//   
  
"Who?" I demanded. "Ezimili, Ax, morph human."  
  
//Too late, he's running. It's Johnny, he was listening to us.//   
  
"Morph something fast! We need to track him! Hurry!" I had already started. Tiger patterns were drawing their lines on my skin. "Tobias!"   
  
"I'm on it!" Tobias cried.   
  
"Ezimili, Ax, stay here! Hide in a stall, or the hayloft if you have too, and wait for us!"   
  
Max fell forward onto his lion paws. Cassie stood on all fours, a snarling wolf. Marco finished, a gorilla. Rachel finished next, a grizzly bear. I fell forward onto my tiger's paws. Hillary finished her hyena, Kai fell onto four leopard's feet. Tyson was a kodiak bear. Kenny had finished his Kangaroo, and for once I was glad of its jumping power and speed. Rei finished his Tiger morph. //come on, lets find the idiot!//  
  
//I FOUND HIM! JAKE! JOHNNY'S MAKING FOR THE WOODS!// Tobias shouted. //HE'S HEADED FOR THE RIVER! IF HE MAKES IT WE'VE LOST HIM!//   
  
I didn't need to be told twice. We were a bunch of escapee's from the zoo. Between us were about five thousand pounds of solid teeth and claws and muscle. We began to run. FENCE! I made it, so did Rei, Kai and Max. Hillary and Cassie slipped under the wires, but Kenny couldn't jump that high.  
  
Kenny slammed into the fence, the barbs in the wire scraping his sides, cutting shallow gashes. //KENNY!// Tyson cried.   
  
//Sorry, I'm fine. I just can't jump that high.//  
  
//Allow me.// Rachel said cheerfully. She wrapped her arms around a fence post and pulled it clear out of the dirt. //Tyson, Kenny, go ahead under it.//   
  
They did, and Rachel daintily put the post back in place.   
  
BUT WE WERE LOSING TIME!   
  
And if Johnny managed to babble out his story to the wrong person, we were dead!  
  
//JOHNNY!// I roared in frustration. //TOBIAS WHERE IS HE?//   
  
//I've got him, it's not easy to lose a hawk!// Tobias answered.   
  
//Which way!// Rachel exclaimed, growling.   
  
//Oh alright, follow me!//  
  
A blur of red and brown swept in like a bullet. //Follow the birdie!//  
  
I ran at top speed after Tobias. //He's got his leg caught in some kind of hole! That will slow him down!//   
  
//I'm fastest!// Kenny ran ahead. //I'll find him!//   
  
Suddenly, a flash of blue bandana and red cowboy hat! WE'D FOUND HIM!! //JOHNNY WAIT!!// I shouted. //THESE WOODS ARE DANGEROUS!!//  
  
"You're dangerous!" He retorted, limping on his good leg.   
  
//But you don't know the whole story!// Cassie protested, leaping in his way.   
  
//Sorry Johnny, but you're going to have to stop and listen to our story before you run away screaming!// Max shouted, leaping on top of him.   
  
There was a frightening crack. Johnny screamed, struggling as Marco, Rachel, and Tyson sat him down. "YOU BROKE MY FUCKING LEG GODAMNIT!"   
  
//Don't know my own strength.// Max backed off. //Sit down. Jake? Does Erek have the ability to heal broken bones?//   
  
//If he can reattach Ax's arm, then he can heal broken bones, but Johnny, you're staying here for now. If you had babbled to the wrong person all of us, you included, would have been dead, or worse.// I told him, sniffing at his face. //We weren't going to hurt you.//  
  
//Too badly.// Rachel rolled her bear eyes, arms crossed. //Marco, do you have that stupid Cell phone that you insist on carrying?//   
  
"Yup." Marco said cheerfully as his mouth emerged.   
  
By then we had him surrounded.   
  
"Erek hi! Yeah its me. Look, we have an emergency, can you make it out to..." Marco rattled off the coordinates. "Yeah its not too bad, kind of simple, but we may need your... ah... talents... Yeah come as you are, I don't want him to see your real face, not yet. Yeah he was on one of the targeted BBA teams, how did you... oh yeah, I forgot... good, see you in five."   
  
"Tobias, if you can get Ax and Ezimili out without being seen..." I began.   
  
//You got it.// Tobias said cheerfully before he swept away on the breeze.   
  
"Now, where to begin, and how to give a reader's digest version of events." I said thoughtfully.   
  
We didn't tell him everything. We told him about Elfangor, about the yeerks, the morphing power, and the Chee. When he asked a question, we answered it.   
  
"But why are you joining the BBA?" He asked. "What does that have to do with the yeerks?"   
  
"Because we think that the yeerks will target the BBA." I explained. "We received a tip off about that and we're checking it out. They were going to use you guys to set up a base in Paris. The Demolition Boys were targeted, so were the Tigers, the Psykicks, the Saint Shields, the All Starz. They're going to try and draw a veritable line around the planet to pass troops, supplies, and information. We can't let that happen." I said flatly.   
  
//We're going to try and reverse their plan. Turn their advantage into our damage.// Rachel grinned. //Or as Kai put it, TOTAL DISRUPTION!//   
  
//Look, we'd like to bring you guys into the group, you guys would have been the first that we'd ask, but there's not enough time until the battle to train you guys well enough so that you'd survive a trip to the yeerk pool. Things are getting ugly down there. We'll come to you, but you CAN'T tell anybody not even the other members of your team until we say that the danger is passed!// Kai said frantically.   
  
"Oh right, like I'm gonna disobey a guy who can turn into a tiger." Johnny rolled his eyes. "Alright, have it your way. But if you want to recruit from the BBA you're going to have to bring the rest of the team in too. I want to be able to trust them, you know?"   
  
//I know perfectly Johnny.// I answered, sitting down, tail still flicking from tension. //And its okay, we really didn't mean to hurt you, but it was for your own safety. What would have happened if you had told a controller huh?// I asked.   
  
"You've got a point. Wow, it feels strange talking to a tiger." He shook his hair out.   
  
"Great, now I've finished healing it." Erek was in his android form. "Try standing on it. It's an honor to meet you Johnny. Hope we'll meet again!" And Erek faded out.   
  
Johnny stood up, testing the leg. "I'm not sure how he did it, but I'll have to remember to thank him." He shivered. It was late by then. "May I go now?"   
  
//Absolutely, now that you know what's at stake.// I answered. We began, one by one, to fade back into the darkness.  
  
First Kai went, then Max and Rei. Tyson and Rachel fell onto four legs and followed them, in the order that we'd practiced. Marco lumbered off. Kenny followed. Hillary and Cassie prowled off into the darkness. Ezimili and Ax left in the direction of the scoop. I faded into the darkness, a sleek, subtle predator. Finally, last of all, Tobias caught a dying thermal and sailed out of sight, leaving Johnny alone.   
  
And then the fireflies came out, their glow filling the night with phantom light and shadow. 


	18. Have I told you lately that I love you? ...

The Generation  
  
Chapter 17- Tyson  
  
"That was close." I said, collapsing on my stomach onto the bed after dinner that night.   
  
"Mhmmm..." Max smirked at me. He climbed onto my bed, bringing his body up against mine. He started massaging my shoulders. "You're so tense love. You should learn to relax."   
  
Where did he learn to caress like that? His hands moved over my back like ghosts, and his hips were pressed between my legs. "Max, are you trying to..." I began.   
  
Then his lips descended on the back of my neck, searching the sensitive nerve he knew was there. "Tyson..." He murmured sensually.   
  
I threw him back. "WHAT IS WITH YOU!?" I demanded. "I THOUGHT WE'D DECIDED TO SAVE OUR FIRST TIME!"   
  
Max drew back, hurt. "I'm sorry Tyson... I just... I'm scared you know? We have three days, two now, until when the attack is scheduled to begin. Tyson I've got the most horrible feeling!" Max snuggled his face against my chest and cried. "It's like... like something horrible is going to happen, that one of us is going to end up dead, or infested and we won't get each other back! Or that... or that mom or somebody is going to end up... that we'll lose somebody close to us..." He sobbed.   
  
"Max." I murmured comfortingly. "Its going to be okay. Nobody is going to get hurt, we've been warned, we've got our pieces in place before they've even made their move!"   
  
But I wasn't so sure. I really wasn't. And so the next evening, I sailed over the gardens, looking for a morph that would help. Maybe a lion like Max's. No, the agreement was no repeats. The Black Panther? Not powerful enough. In the end I couldn't find something good enough from the air. I gave up. There wasn't really much that we hadn't gotten that was worth it.   
  
When I made it to the late night practice session, I saw Kai and Kenny leading Cassie through the same exercises that we'd used to prepare for the battle with Dunga. She plowed her way through the boards, weaving among the cans that had been set out. Then her beyblade bounced up the set of steps that we'd put out. "Hey Tyson, there you are. We found something way in the back of the grotto. We think that it might be some bit beasts, but its too late to check them out."   
  
"Cassie..." I looked around. It was stupid, I know. Cassie's barn has more basic morphs, for infiltration, or surveillance. I would not expect a combat morph to just pop out of the walls.   
  
"You're worried aren't you?" Cassie asked.   
  
I nodded. "Very. Max had this... feeling that one of us wasn't going to come out of this alive."   
  
"The yeerk pool is going to be insane, but it can be survived." Cassie said with a small smile.   
  
"I went to the Gardens to see if there was something more powerful than I already had. I couldn't think of anything more powerful than a Kodiak Bear and an Elephant, the Kodiak makes Max's lion look like a kitten." I said sadly. "I don't know what to do. For the first time since I got Dragoon I don't know what to do." I spread my hands in helplessness.   
  
"Comfort him Tyson." Cassie said with a smile.   
  
That gave me an idea. "Thanks, I think I will." I morphed and flew off.   
  
Over three hours and a trip to the sex toy store later I was busy rubbing scent oils into a bunch of candles. Red roses, tissue paper ones at least, were scattered in places in the room. Real rose petals were sprinkled on the bed. That was when there was a loud knock on the door. "TYSON!" Zeo squealed.   
  
"Hey Zeo! Come on in!" Zeo and Wyatt piled in.   
  
Zeo blushed deeply. "Oops, I'm sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?"   
  
"Not unless Max is coming in behind you." I said with a smirk. "Pull up a chair, go ahead and sit."   
  
"See Zeo?" Wyatt grinned impishly. "I told you he wouldn't mind!"   
  
"Mind what?" I asked.   
  
They giggled. Zeo flushed as red as the candle I was holding. "Wyatt and I have been... going out..." He squeaked.   
  
I dropped the candle. "CONGRATS ZEO!" I said happily. "Ooo weee he's gonna leave the club with a groupie! Like oooo weee!" I did my best ArKelly "Gigolo" imitation.   
  
"Tysoooonnn!" Zeo hid his face in his hands.   
  
"Which one's the groupie?" Wyatt asked.   
  
"Both of you are! It's a mentality Wyatt!" I swept Zeo up in an imitation of Cassie and Rachel's happy dance. "Congratulations! When are you two gonna get laid?"   
  
"TYSOOOONNNN!" Zeo was purple in embarrassment.   
  
"Say." Wyatt began shyly. "Is all of that for Max?"   
  
"How did you guess?" I asked. "He's got this stupid feeling that something bad is gonna happen at the convention coming up." I explained. "He's really upset about it. So I figured I'd put together something romantic for him."   
  
"That's so sweet!" Wyatt smiled that benign smile of his. The one that would have made Voltaire cry its so cute.   
  
"Look, we've got things that have to be done before tomorrow." Zeo said, letting go. "We just thought that we'd drop by before we head back to the hotel."   
  
"Zeo, Wyatt, promise me that you won't tell anybody about me and Max?" I begged. "PROMISE?"   
  
"Pinky promise." Zeo grinned.   
  
"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Wyatt agreed.   
  
They left. I retrieved the candle. Pretty soon, everything was ready. I was the only one that was there for dinner, so I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup and headed back upstairs to get ready.   
  
Max knocked. "Tyson?"   
  
"Come on in Max." I smirked.   
  
He opened the door. "OOOOOO!" He squealed. "Tyson is all of this for me?" He asked, throwing his arms around my neck.   
  
"Yup." I grinned, wrapping my arms around his waist. I gently kicked the door shut and flicked the lock. He let me go and I went over to the boom box. I closed the window and the shades nearby before pressing play.   
  
Have I told you lately that I love you  
  
Have I told you there's no one above you  
  
Fill my heart with gladness  
  
Take away my sadness  
  
Ease my troubles that's what you do.  
  
I pulled him into my arms. "Dance Max?" I asked.   
  
"Of course."   
  
Oh the morning sun in all it's glory  
  
Greets the day with hope and comfort too  
  
And you fill my life with laughter  
  
You can make it better  
  
Ease my troubles that's what you do  
  
I smiled, my arm around his waist. I leaned my head close to his. "You wanted it to be special love. So I made it special."   
  
"Oh Tyson." Max sighed as he leaned in to kiss me.   
  
There's a love that's divine  
  
And it's your's and it's mine  
  
Like the sun at the end of the day  
  
We should give thanks and pray to the one  
  
I slipped my tongue into his mouth, exploring, twining it with his. We pulled back, and the air between us was heavy. "Max, I tried looking for something more powerful than my Kodiak bear. I couldn't find it. The only thing, I think, that we can do, is hope. Hope and fight for each other."   
  
Have I told you lately that I love you?  
  
Have I told you there's no one above you?  
  
Fill my heart with gladness  
  
Take away my sadness  
  
Ease my troubles that's what you do  
  
"Promise Max?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. I took his hand in mine, kissing the knuckles tenderly, moving my lips up his arm. "Promise me that you'll fight for me. That we'll fight for each other. No matter what happens, we'll fight for each other."   
  
There's a love that's divine  
  
And it's yours and it's mine  
  
And it shines like the sun  
  
At the end of the day  
  
We will give thanks and pray  
  
To the one.  
  
"I promise Tyson." Max said softly. He shivered in pleasure, and I knew that it was almost time.   
  
Have I told you lately that I love you?  
  
Have I told you there's no one above you?  
  
Fill my heart with gladness  
  
Take away my sadness  
  
Ease my troubles that's what you do  
  
I kissed my way up his shoulders and neck. Then I noticed the tears in Max's eyes. I licked them away. "Ai shiteru..."  
  
Fill my heart with gladness  
  
Take away my sadness  
  
Ease my troubles that's what you do...  
  
"Ai shiteru Takao-koi..." He whispered, barely audible. I felt Max trembling in my arms. I felt the stillness in his body, in both of our bodies. "Take me..." He whispered.   
  
I smiled tenderly down at him, and did just that. 


	19. We Shorma, we fight with one blade

The Generation  
  
Chapter 18-Tyson  
  
I dreamed. I floated above a HUGE canyon. The end of it was dammed up. A pair of piers jutted out into the water. To my right I saw a line of cages. Hork bajir and a few other species that I didn't recognize were stuck in them. The pool seethed like molten lead. There were hork bajir standing guard on the rim of the dam. The dam was made of trees, held in place across the lip of the canyon by means of smaller trees and branches.   
  
My heart began to pound. This was the yeerk pool. I was sure that it was. This was the yeerk pool on another planet. What was going on?   
  
The scene was frozen beneath me. And standing there on the rim of the dam were two hork bajir restraining...   
  
//MAX!!// I cried. He was frozen in place. It was then that I realized.   
  
This was Max's dream. It was his nightmare of pain and despair that I was seeing.   
  
And slowly, with almost obscene innocence and delicacy, a tiny, glowing butterfly sailed down to that cesspool of despair. It landed on Max's nose. Max's body morphed, almost instantly, into a Hork Bajir.  
  
THE SCENE BELOW BURST INTO LIFE!  
  
The two hork bajir were dragging him out onto the pier. Max thrashed and screamed and cried. It was no use. The two guards kicked his legs out from under him. Then...  
  
TSSSAAAP! TSSSSSAPP! A pair of andilite fighters swooped down from the sky, attacking the piers. The wooden pier beneath Max's feet vaporized. His guards jumped out of the way. Max swam free, careful to keep his head above the sludge. A hork bajir and another andilite, delicate enough in build so that I realized that she must be a girl, helped him out of the water.   
  
"Thanks Aldrea, Dak." Max said, panting. "NOW LET'S FRY SOME YEERKS!" Max was demorphing now, changing.  
  
But not into a human.   
  
Max became an andilite female, larger, more graceful than Aldrea, with fur that was more violet or indigo than blue. But... didn't you have to demorph before entering another form? Besides, wasn't Max's andilite morph female?   
  
"With pleasure Princess." The Hork Bajir said. "With pleasure."   
  
Andilites and hork bajir were piling onto the scene. There had to be over a hundred of them! In the sky andilite fighters and some kind of squat, insect shaped fightercraft fired at each other in a deadly near surface dogfight.   
  
Max faught, slicing and dicing. His tail whipped again! Again! Again! With deadly speed and accuracy he chopped off limbs and heads of enemy hork bajir. //COME ON SLUGS! HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH? OH YEAH TAKE THAT! AND THAT! THAT WILL TEACH YOU TO INFEST AN ANDILITE! THAT WILL PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE!!// The look on Max's andilite face was malicious, murderous. His andilite body was soaked in blue/green hork bajir ichor.  
  
Then the call came. //EVERYBODY OFF THE DAM! EVERYBODY OFF! THIS IS WAR PRINCE ALLORAN SEMITUR CORRASS!! EVERYBODY OFF THE DAM!//   
  
Under Dak's direction, the hork bajir took to the trees. Max and Aldrea leapt gracefully to the ground and made their way down the slope as fast as their legs would allow. The other andilites joined them.   
  
The yeerks cheered. The thought that they had repelled the attack. I heard Max say to Alloran.... //Alloran, put them out of their misery.//  
  
Alloran fired. The dam burst. The hork bajir controllers on the rim were knocked off, crushed beneath falling timbers, torn to pieces by splinters, or just plain vaporized by the heat from the shredders. And yeerks writhed on the ground in pain. Some of them burned to death by the radiation from the fighter's weapons.   
  
//All clear Judin. All clear.// Alloran told Max.   
  
Only then did I realize who Max had become. At night, in his dreams, he became a monster. Was this really Judy? Would Max's mother of all people order the slaughter of... how many yeerks? I couldn't count that high!  
  
No wonder Max refused to believe that this was his mother. If I had known that my mother had been in war, ordering the slaughter of thousands of well... not exactly innocents, because they were yeerks, but the enemy... I would have been frightened too.   
  
Then Judin began to tremble... //Goddess forgive me...// She sobbed softly. //Goddess forgive me my sin... my slaughter of innocents... Goddess of peace forgive me...//  
  
\\MAAAAXXXX\\ I cried.   
  
//Tyson?// Max was unable to look up, because, after all, you can't change the past.   
  
//Max what's...?//   
  
Then I saw the horror running through the trees, lying in wait above Max/Judin. With a roar of rage the hork bajir controller fell from the branches onto Judin's back.   
  
Judin/Max bucked with a scream of fear. I screamed too... because Judin's tail went spinning away into the coming darkness.  
  
I woke up, covered in sweat and dried cum. Max was curled into a ball in my arms, sweating, trembling. "No... tail... gone... morph... now!" He sobbed.   
  
"I've got you Max." I stroked his hair tenderly. "You're not alone. I fight with you. We fight together."   
  
"Tyson..." Max murmured. His eyes shot open, then he fell into a deeper sleep.   
  
I looked at the clock on the bedside. It said 1:00 AM. I pulled Max a little closer to me and closed my eyes.   
  
In my dreams I was standing on a bridge. The bridge stood over bubbling, spewing lava. The atmosphere radiated hatred and terror and rage. A creature made out of metal glared at me. It looked like a pyramid made of steel with an eye mounted on the top. It stood on a pedestal and glared down at me. It's eye glowed malevolently red. It growled at me, and I trembled in terror. I felt weak. I couldn't stand, because I knew that this creature would cause my death. He WAS death. He was death and murder and hatred and fear and everything that every half way decent human being is afraid of.   
  
The creature fixed its eye on me, and when it spoke I trembled in terror.  
  
//DO NOT INTERFERE TYSON!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! INTERFERE WITH THIS AND YOU WILL DIE WITH HIM!!//   
  
"Gods..." I prayed softly. "Kami-samas..."   
  
The picture faded. It was replaced with a gentler figure. We stood in a realm of black emptiness. The figure looked like an old man, with glowing blue skin and pointed ears. He wore robes of a lighter blue.   
  
"Who are you?"   
  
I AM THE GUARDIAN OF TIME. TYSON THE CREATURE YOU HAVE SEEN IS DANGEROUS.   
  
"I'll say." I muttered.   
  
I MUST ASK YOU TO BE CAREFUL. MAX IS AN IMPORTANT CATALYST IN THE TIMELINE OF EARTH. WHAT HE SEES IS FOR HIM TO INTERPRET.   
  
"HE'S MY LOVER YOU ASSHOLE!!" I shouted at him. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO??"   
  
LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, BUT IT IS ALSO SAD, AND IT CAN ALSO DESTROY. YOUR DEDICATION IS ADMIRABLE. YOU WILL HAVE YOUR CHANCE TO FULFILL YOUR PROMISE TO HIM. HOWEVER, HIS FATE WILL BE DECIDED BY THE TIES OF BLOOD. IF HE REJECTS HIS BLOOD, THEN NOTHING YOU DO WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HIM.   
  
"You're talking about Judy aren't you?"  
  
The creature seemed to consider this. WAR PRINCESS JUDIN WILL DECIDE THE DIRECTION OF THE FIGHT. YOU, TYSON, HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER HER. HUMAN, YOUR SPECIES IS PRIMATIVE, YET CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING. IT IS THIS TRAIT THAT MAKES EARTH A CROSSROADS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE.  
  
"Gee, thanks." I muttered sarcastically. "And the universe? I mean, come on. We're just one tiny planet, why do WE get to do the whole crossroads thing?"   
  
I AM NOT ABLE TO INTERFERE. HOWEVER, AS A HUMAN ONCE WROTE, 'ONE RAINDROP RAISES THE SEA,' EVERY PLANET, EVERY BEING, ROCK, TREE, AND PLANT HAS A PURPOSE. YOU HAVE YOUR'S AS WELL TYSON.  
  
"Swell, I am supposed to be relieved that I have a purpose."  
  
WAS THAT SARCASM TYSON?  
  
"Do you have a fucking point?"  
  
YOU AND MAX ARE SHORMA TYSON. YOU FIGHT WITH ONE BLADE. DO NOT ABUSE THAT POWER. MAX IS AN ANOMALY, HE CANNOT BE DISTRACTED FROM THE PRESERVATION OF THIS TIMELINE.  
  
"And that means WHAT to me? I have no idea what you just said!" I growled.   
  
YOU WILL, WHEN WORLDS UNITE, WHEN THE WAR THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BEGINS AND JUDY RISES TO FILL HER PLACE, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.   
  
"Oh so now you're bringing Max's mother into this?" I demanded. "I'll ask just once, what the Hell is going on??"   
  
MAX IS LEARNING WHAT HE MUST. HE CANNOT HIDE FOREVER. BETWEEN VISIONS OF THE PAST AND ECHOES OF THE FUTURE, HE WILL...  
  
"Go completely and totally insane, wonko, bye bye, this elevator does not go to the top of the building, this deck is missing a few cards here, excuse me, but he seems to have lost his marbles..."   
  
The creature laughed. WE WILL MEET AGAIN TYSON. It said.   
  
"HANG ON YOU! WE'RE NOT FUCKING FINISHED YET!" I shouted as the creature walked away. It didn't answer. I think I insulted it.   
  
Who? Me? Insulting? Oh yeah, when I wanted to I could insult just about anybody.   
  
I woke up. Max was snuggled against me, warm, sleeping soundly. Anomaly. Had I just seen that Elemist that Cassie had mentioned. I felt, felt... in tune with him somehow. I held him to me, tears streaming from my face. I had seen the true enemy.   
  
Then I felt it. We breathed as one! Our hearts beat as one!  
  
I'm not kidding. Want wierdly romantic? Try having you breathe in sync with your lover. Max's eyes fluttered open. "Tyson?"   
  
"Max." I murmured. Then I remembered. Yesterday had been the last day of school, our first time having sex. I remembered the dream. But if we really dreamed the same dream, and would continue dreaming the same dreams, then how could I hold back?  
  
Then he gasped. "Tyson, you were... dreaming the same as me? And that creature? Both of them?"   
  
"How did you..." I asked.  
  
"I felt it." Max answered.  
  
"There is no way you could have..." I started.  
  
"Read your mind? I know its..."  
  
"Definitely weird. It doesn't get..."  
  
"Wierder, I know..."   
  
We looked at each other for a few seconds, the significance sinking in. "WOAH!" We said at once.   
  
"Houston this could be..." I began.  
  
"A problem." Max finished.   
  
~notes~  
  
Tyson: WILD!! Max! Max! What am I thinking now?  
  
Max: That this whole thing is completely and totally insane! And you know I wholly agree.  
  
Marco: This is insane! Insane! How come Max is psychic and I'm not? 


	20. The Warthatshouldnothavebeen and the cou...

The Generation  
  
Note 2 self, the song is called "Tipsy"  
  
Chapter 19- Cassie  
  
Dreams, disturbing dreams. No, not even. They were echoes...  
  
BAM BAM! Two shots... but the controllers rarely used guns! A scream of fear. A roar of rage. Then two words that nobody wants to hear. "She's dead."  
  
Then more words, ones that I, as a pacifist stuck in a war that she didn't want to hear, but knew would come.   
  
//She died in the service of the people, defending freedom. Andilites! Let us rise to battle this menace alongside our human friends! We fought together, we reached the stars together!//  
  
"Yeerks, the humans freed us! This enemy came from our ranks, betraying us! We have no reason not to fight this new enemy!"   
  
"Animorphs, I led you once, from war and slavery to peace!" I knew who was speaking. This was Jake, rallying his people to war. "Once we fought, once we paid a terrible price! Now one of our ranks has fallen! The andilites have a ritual of vengeance! Her killer still lives! We must take up the burden of revenge!"   
  
//Anatipeopleweweresavedbythehumansofearthwhostoppedamenaceatourdoors.Nowwewillrepaythem.AnatipeoplewewillfollowthehumannamedJakeintobattle.Foriftheyeerkscametousoncetheywillcertainlycomeagain,morecarefulthistime,spreadinglikeaninsidiousmenace!Forourfreedomandforthefreedomofall,wewillreturntothebattlefield!!//  
  
//Taxxons, we gave in to temptation once! In service to the living hive, let us take care not to make the same mistake again! Let us not stray from the teachings of serenity and brotherhood of the hive. We lived a cursed life too long. Now we are free. Let us use that freedom to defend our friends and brothers!//  
  
[My brother Leerans together we have fought for so long! Safe in our fortress of water, with human and andilite allies at our side, we have managed to repel one invasion. We will now repel many, many others!]  
  
"Hork bajir brothers. I am a seer, destined to show you a new way. None regrets more than I that this way would lead to blood. We are once again given a terrible choice... FREE OR DEAD!" THUMP!  
  
And the thoughtspeak cries of fear and pain.   
  
//TALA! MORPH BACK! DO IT NOW!//  
  
//Bryan! Above you!//  
  
//LEE BEHIND YOU! DUCK! DUCK NOW!//  
  
//NO NO NO YOU DON'T!//  
  
//Tyson, Tyson you need to morph back! Do it now! The venom is killing you! You're losing blood! Please Tyson!//  
  
//Get the anti-venom here now!//  
  
//Got it! Hurry Kai!//  
  
//Tyson, Tyson talk to me!//  
  
WHAM!! //TYSON! MAX! MORPH OUT NOW!//  
  
//Tyson... Tyson is he?// Asked a small, weak voice.   
  
//He's dead Max...//  
  
//Too... too late then... I was too late... at least he was... was hu...man...//   
  
//MAAAAAAAAXXXXXXXX!!// I heard the keening of animals, of morphs. Eagles, falcons, hawks, Hork bajir, animal roars, sobs, howls of pain and anguish, as the Animorphs and the BBA mourned not one, but two of their own.   
  
I sat up straight in bed, startling the Drode who had been standing near the bed. "YOU!" I hissed. "What are you doing here??"   
  
"Hi Captain Killer Cassie! I was just coming to ask how my old friend Max was doing!" Drode said cheerfully. Drode was a creature that looked like a cross between a human, a dinosaur, and a prune. He had a humanoid head with dark green rims around his eyes, black skin that wrinkled like a rotten prune, and a body reminiscent of a very ugly iguanodon. To add to its annoyance, it seems to know just how to get on our nerves.   
  
I did NOT want my nerves gotten on. "What do you want Drode?" I asked.   
  
"Oooohhh Captain Killer Cassie has a little attitude! You wouldn't shoot the messenger would you Cassie?"  
  
"What messenger, all I see right now is a prune colored rat?!" I snarled. I swung on him. The punch connected and Drode giggled.   
  
"Oooh Captain Killer Cassie! That tickled! Do it again!" Drode giggled.   
  
"What do you want Drode?" I demanded. "Or are you just here to harass me?"   
  
Once, a long time ago, Drode tempted Jake into making a decision. The decision was to go back and never have walked through the construction site. Drode's plan had come apart because I was what he referred to as an anomaly, a person anchored to the strands of space-time. Since then, he has not, as far as I know, meddled with time again. But you never know. I was worried that I might wake up in... I don't know some place that I didn't want to be.   
  
"Well, I came to wish you luck in Galactic War One which is scheduled to begin exactly ten years after the destruction of the yeerk empire. It will be the destruction of one, either Crayak, or the United Animorphs Alliance. And you know what? From where I'm sitting my money is on Crayak that out of the twelve, no, thirteen Animorphs currently in existence, only one will survive, the Cowardly Killer Captain Cassie!" Drode said the title in a sing song voice.   
  
I picked up the alarm clock from my bedside table, the old fashioned Sponge Bob one that Rachel's little sister Jordan had given me for my birthday...  
  
And flung it at a Drode that was no longer there...  
  
The next day we were supposed to meet Johnny at the beach. We'd have two purposes.   
  
The first was to begin training the Blade Breakers with water morphs. Thus the reason why I'd set the same Sponge Bob alarm clock I had broken for four a.m. Thanks to Drode, however, I had gotten up at closer to two a.m. That was also why I was on my seventh cup of coffee by the time a seagull/raptor convention converged on the Gardens to acquire a dolphin morph and the morph of the resident orca whale, Swoosh.   
  
The second was to figure out how to smuggle designer clothes into the Beyblades Ball. We were hoping that Johnny would be able to help somehow.  
  
"Hi, you look happy today." Rei said cheerfully as his mouth emerged.   
  
I grunted something that he couldn't hear. The sun had still not come up. It was that gray, predawn sort of thing.   
  
"Oh. Forget I said anything."   
  
"What happened?" Jake asked.   
  
"Remember how Drode called me Killer Cassie?" I asked irritably.   
  
"Um... sort of." He blinked in surprise at the sudden change of topic.   
  
I gulped at my double sugar Vanilla Chai and answered. "Well according to him I am now Captain Killer Cassie."  
  
"He showed up?" Rachel demanded.   
  
"Yes, and received a punch in the eye and a Sponge Bob alarm clock to the face." I grunted. "And his head was so hard that it broke the alarm clock. Sponge Bob and his Squirrel... diver... companion... THING..."  
  
"Sandy..." Marco interjected.   
  
"Are now missing their HEADS!" I finished.   
  
"What did Drode want?" Jake asked, clearly afraid that a week's worth of misadventures had occurred in the space of a day.   
  
"He wanted to congratulate me on being the only Animorph destined to survive an intergalactic war that would result in Crayak taking over the Galaxy. He said that it would occur about ten years after we defeat the yeerks." I downed the last drops of my Dunkin Doughnuts Vanilla Chai before looking at their reactions. "The result was that I woke up over two hours before the alarm was scheduled to go off at four a.m. Added to that I went to sleep at about twelve because we had an emergency training pow wow."   
  
Marco whistled appreciatively. "What makes him think that we're all going to die?" He asked, as he watched Kenny lure Swoosh to the side of the tank with fish.   
  
"Something about Max." I growled. "I think that there's a turning point coming up, like the construction site incident."  
  
//And if Max doesn't make the turning point...// Tobias asked.   
  
"Then all of us, and the human race, are dead meat in at least ten years, and somewhere in our lifetimes." Marco rolled his eyes. "Have I ever mentioned that this is insane? Because this is insane! Insane!"   
  
I looked mournfully into my empty cup before throwing it into the trash can. "Jake!" Kai swam up to the edge of the tank. "We've finished."   
  
"Great, lets morph people! We meet Johnny at ten, lets finish this exercise before then!" Jake raised his voice slightly so that he could be heard.   
  
We morphed and flew. The dolphins were kept in a separate tank from the orcas because of the tendency of the former to eat the latter. Therefore we had to flap to the other end of the zoo area to get to the dolphin tank. This was one of those times that I had to agree with Marco.   
  
Life is insane.   
  
We flew out to a cove and made a splash down landing in the water.   
  
//Why the hell are we landing in WATER?// Tyson demanded. //Man this is one angry eagle!//  
  
//Because we had to do it once.// I said, landing by Tyson's head as it emerged.   
  
"And I am thrilled how?" Tyson spat, treading water.   
  
"You don't have to be." I said as my mouth emerged. "Right, dolphin is the easiest, dolphins first. Then we'll morph Orca and power our way down shore to the rendezvous point with Johnny. I've already taken the time to plant clothes and shoes in the beach brush."   
  
"And I am happy about this how?" Tyson asked, right before his face sprouted out and out into a dolphin grin.   
  
Max looked at him for a moment. They stared at each other. Then Tyson went under because his hands had shriveled into fins. Max, currently finished with his own dolphin morph, pushed him to the surface to finish the transformation. I couldn't help but wonder as the changes kicked in, what was that about?  
  
I sank into the water, keeping my eyes on the Blade Breakers. Kai's hair was sucking into the dolphin head. Rei's eyes were changing from catlike, to the black, playful dolphin expression. Kenny's glasses floated free, to be caught by Tobias. Hillary's toes and painted toenails were fading to gray, melting into her new fins.   
  
//Woah...// Kai whispered as the dolphin instincts kicked in. //Wow...//   
  
//Everybody okay?// I asked.   
  
//I think so.// Kenny said softly. I saw a dolphin shake itself out.   
  
//THEN LET'S PLAY!// Hillary cheered.   
  
//Oh yeah! Watch what I can do!// Tyson exclaimed. He dove deep under the water. //Cause I'm a dolphin and I am HAPPY!// He came, powering up. //LET IT RIII-IIP!// He burst up over the water.   
  
//So?// Kai asked, surfacing. //I can do THIS!// He fired a burst of echolocation clicks.   
  
//And that does?// Tyson asked skeptically.   
  
//Tobias throw Kenny's glasses in the water.//  
  
//HEY!// Kenny protested.   
  
Tobias dropped them in. We watched them sink to the bottom. Kai turned away while they sank. Then he fired a burst of clicks. //Got them!// Kai powered down to the bottom and came back up with the glasses in his mouth. //See! See! I told you that was cool! Drop a ring, or a pearl! Hell, drop a marble or a small coin! I can always find it!//   
  
//Betcha can't catch me Tyson!// Max exclaimed. They zipped off into the water, twining over and around each other in joy. Twining? Wasn't that mating behavior in dolphins?  
  
//Right, everybody listen up. Somewhere within this and the two neighboring coves, we've hidden a broken dracon beam on the ocean floor. Your job is to find it in the next... ten minutes! Ax, keep track now.//  
  
As I watched, they formed up into a staggered V shape. Ax had taken Ezimili in to acquire both morphs that night so that she could participate, which was why I had been up at twelve, taking them to the Gardens. We shadowed the others at a distance, Tobias keeping track of their progress. //They're close to it Cassie. Whoops! Kai's found it, but he dropped it. I don't think they have the hang of the whole picking things up without hands thing.... Whoah! He's got it! Max got one end and Tyson has the other. They're attempting to carry it together, but the dracon beam keeps slipping. Are you sure that these things are water proof Ax-man?//  
  
//They are very water proof, although I don't think its been necessary in quite this way just yet Tobias.// Ax answered.   
  
//Hey, we could start Consumer Reports, the Yeerk Edition!// Marco joked.   
  
We chuckled. Then Tobias said, //Here they come Cassie.//  
  
The blade breakers rounded the corner and I had to laugh. They were arching up and up, throwing the Dracon beam to each other in relay groups of two. //Yeay! This is fun!// Rei exclaimed.   
  
//Fun?// Marco asked. //Check out the dolphin brains Rei. And trust me, this is way WAY different from the Orca. We tried it yesterday.//  
  
//Aw man, you guys take all the fun out of a good thing.// Hillary protested. But they began to demorph.   
  
We morphed into Orcas and began the trip up coast to the barren beach where we'd agreed to meet Johnny, and the Breakers found the main difference between Dolphin and orca brains. The difference was like that of a dog and a wolf. The orca, unlike the wolf, had prewritten plans of how to attack this or that sea animal from this or that approach. In other words it was probably the first and only morph that the Blade Breakers would encounter that had a separate mind from theirs.   
  
The only person who had trouble was Kenny. The orca mind seemed to have no respect for someone so small. On the other hand, Kai seemed to have no trouble at all with the orca. Tyson joked about them having a similar mentality.   
  
That was when Jake said, //You'd better hope Tyson, that it's JUST Kai and not anybody else. The sixth animorph, David, had an orca morph and almost killed us with it. You'd better hope that you NEVER, EVER have to fight an orca.//   
  
//Okay you guys, we're there!// Tobias told us. //And the only person there is Johnny. He's wearing a Good Charlotte t-shirt and a black pokemon baseball cap. He's wearing those really weird men-in-black type sunglasses. I think he might have had some trouble with groupies along the way.// Then. //HEY THERE JOHNNY! Okay you guys I think I have his attention now. Yeah you! We're the pod of orcas coming in from off shore.//   
  
Ax and Ezimili detached themselves from the group to morph birds of prey and be ready to go their own way. The Blade Breakers detached themselves from the group as we'd told them and started demorphing even as they were powering their way into shore. We emerged, one wet and soggy group of humans in assorted leotards, leggings, t-shirts and bike shorts.   
  
"Whew! What a rush!" Tyson sighed, squeezing out his hair.   
  
"I have absolutely NO idea what happened to my hair wrap." Rei said, looking mournfully at his long, tangled wet hair.   
  
Kai smiled, reaching out to caress his head and cheek gently. "I'll help you brush it when we get home."   
  
Kenny's teeth were chattering. "Let's not do that again any time soon..." He shivered. "That morph does NOT like me."   
  
"Thanks for coming out here Johnny." Jake shook hands. "I came because we need information."  
  
"Well, that seems to be all that I'm good for." Johnny said sarcastically.   
  
I listened carefully while I passed out the clothes and flip-flops. "You'll get your chance Johnny." I said placatingly.   
  
"Told you they'd be jumping to help us." Rei whispered as he took a towel from the duffel bag.   
  
"We need to know if the BBA has locker rooms." Jake went on.   
  
"They do, but the convention center doesn't." Johnny told him.   
  
"We just need a demorph point near the convention center. And since we won't be big enough to carry them ourselves, we'll need somebody to take them ahead in advance. The outfits are still at your place. We'll call you when we're heading out."  
  
"Oh, so now I'm a courier?" Johnny rolled his eyes. "Tell me this, how soon do I get to learn to morph?"  
  
"As soon as we manage to save whichever member of your team the yeerks decide to capture Johnny." Marco answered with as much charm as he could muster.   
  
Johnny glared death at him. "I hope you're not pulling my leg about this." He sighed in agreement.   
  
"There's one more thing." I told him. "You can be our eyes and ears at the Ball. When you notice that one of the members of your team is missing, try to find us."  
  
"Even better." Marco grinned wickedly. "Anybody got a random song?"  
  
"CASTLES IN THE SKY!" Rachel exclaimed. "That's my favorite, and they don't play it that often! So there's no mistaking it!"   
  
"Okay then, whichever one of us notices something is wrong, request castles in the sky and try to find us... where?"  
  
//In the corner opposite the DJ.// Tobias suggested. //Its dark, and nobody would hear you.//  
  
"That's the make out corner." Marco shook his head. "It wouldn't work."  
  
//Then where?//   
  
"Under the speakers, we'd have to shout, but we wouldn't be overheard very easily."   
  
"Trust Marco to designate a 'Make out corner.'" Rachel rolled his eyes.   
  
"Okay folks, we're settled?" Jake asked.   
  
"Yup, we are." Was the general agreement.   
  
"Then let's rock. We've got miles to go before we sleep." Jake grinned.   
  
And hours of tense waiting, of adrenaline simply from having to wait for dusk.   
  
But most of all, hours of fear that we would miss, something, something important.   
  
Because no matter what happened, there was the future to think about.  
  
The future didn't exactly look like a good thing.  
  
~Max~  
  
I've got the most horrible feeling. I felt horrible for a lot of reasons as I walked home that day, getting ready for the meeting and the mission.   
  
The first reason was that I knew my mother would be upset. She had always protected me, and now I was going beyond her reach. I felt like I was lying to her. My relationship with my mother had gone down hill since I'd become an Animorph.   
  
I looked around the city sadly as I walked. I saw lovers arm and arm. I saw children out shopping with their parents begging for this or that toy. I remembered when my mother and I had done just that. I saw a bunch of children playing with their beyblades on the playground. I just stood at the fence and watched them for awhile. I considered joining them.   
  
But that wasn't me anymore.   
  
The second reason was that I was struggling, struggling to figure out just who I was, where I was going to go with my life. What was I going to do after all of this was over? Would I go back to being Max of the Blade Breakers, instead of Max of the Animorphs? Was there ever any going back?   
  
Somehow, deep inside of me, I knew that there wasn't.  
  
The third problem was way, way deeper than the first two. The night after our first time, I had heard, echoes, disturbing echoes of a battle. I remembered scenes of death and carnage, scenes I knew hadn't happened yet.  
  
WHAM!! //TYSON! MAX! MORPH OUT NOW!//  
  
//Tyson... Tyson is he?// I asked, barely able to speak, to think, sinking down into darkness.  
  
//He's dead Max...//  
  
//Too... too late then... I was too late... at least he was... was hu...man...//   
  
//MAAAAAAAAXXXXXXXX!!// I heard the keening, horrible, heart rending, from hundreds of animal and alien throats.   
  
Were these visions of the future? I had no idea, but I had the horrible, nagging sense that something was wrong. I was forgetting something, there was something that I had to do. I had to do it, because if I didn't, something horrible would happen. As I walked toward home, the feeling grew stronger, almost a panic.   
  
I made it to my room and put on Melissa Etheridge. She always soothed me.   
  
Don't be afraid  
  
Close your eyes  
  
Lay it all down  
  
Don't you cry  
  
Can't you see I'm going?  
  
Where I can see the sun rise  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that it's alright  
  
I picked up mother's angel off of my dresser and put it on my desk.  
  
I've always had to run  
  
I don't know just why  
  
Desire slowly smoking  
  
Under the Midwest sky  
  
Bur there's something waiting out there  
  
That says I've got to try  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that it's alright  
  
I put my mother's picture next to it. Jake would hate what I was about to do. He would say that it was stupid, that it was bad security.   
  
This town thinks I'm crazy  
  
They just think I'm strange  
  
Sometimes they would own me  
  
Sometimes they wish I'd change  
  
"Mom." I whispered to the picture. "I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry Jake. But I've got to do it. I've got to make her understand." I said, as tears streamed down my face.  
  
But I can feel the thunder  
  
Underneath my feet  
  
Cause I sold my soul for freedom  
  
Its lonely but its sweet  
  
I dug a paper and a pen out of my desk. The paper was that fancy letter paper that has pictures on it, angels in this case, how appropriate.   
  
Don't be afraid  
  
Close your eyes  
  
Lay it all down  
  
Don't you cry  
  
Can't you see I'm going?  
  
Where I can see the sun rise  
  
I've been talking to my angel  
  
And he said that it's alright  
  
I thought for a moment, and then I began to write. "Dear Mom..." 


	21. The Belle of the Ball

****

The Generation

Notes: I don't own Heaven. I wish I did, because it was a very good song, however, neither does DJ Sammy. Bryan Adams, an old school light rock artist, sang it when most of the people on ff.net were in diapers, including myself. I also do not own 'Complicated', 'Coming Clean' or 'Meant to Live.' They are owned by Avril Lavigne, Hillary Duff, and Switchfoot.

**__**

Chapter 20- Max

We landed outside of the BBA regional headquarters, demorphing in an alleyway a block down. Johnny handed us our badges and tickets in advance and "Team Hawk" and the Blade Breakers pulled on their outfits. We walked the block down to the convention center and flashed our badges at the door. 

The announcer called out. "BLADE BREAKERS, TEAM HAWK," at the door. 

The club was overwhelming! Perfume, sweat and body odors surrounded a seething mass of humanity. Over to the right a group of tables were set out near a buffet. I saw Robert entertaining a mass of girls with some kind of story (totally in character.) But at the same time I knew he was acting, because I saw Tala's hand on his thigh under the table. 

"Care for a grind Max?" Tyson asked cheerfully. 

"Sure!" I grinned. 

In we went! Jostling bodies, Tyson and I ground, taking comfort in the rhythmic contact between our bodies. The song would have been obscene by any other standard, except that this was America, this was an American Club, and the international teams were all ready to cut loose. 

J-Kwon, Snoop dog, Ludacris, the closest the big boys would have been able to get to the door was their jams being played in the DJ booth, because this was our party! Now how was the whole kareoke thing supposed to work? 

Selima answered my question for me when the DJ said. "Y'all listen up, listen up! Selima from Team Psykick here is gonna sing 'Heaven' for us! By Bryan Adams and redone by DJ Sammy! So listen up ya'll you know how this go down!" 

"YEEEEEEEEAAAAHHHHH" Was the response. 

Selima singing kareoke! I saw Kane closest the stage in full uniform, grinning like an idiot up at her. 

__

"Baby you're all that I want  
When you're lying here in my arms  
I'm finding it hard to believe  
we're in heaven  
And love is all that I need  
And I found it there in your heart  
It isn't too hard to see  
We're In Heaven"

The floor cleared for slow dances, and I saw just as many gay and lesbian couples as straight. Even better, I saw Kai and Rei. Rei had his head leaned against Kai's chest. Tyson pulled me onto the dance floor, our faces less than an inch apart. I shivered. It was one of those times that we weren't just with each other, we were of each other. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Animorphs getting into position. They were going to sing as soon as this was over. Then it would be my turn. 

"Okay ya'll we have at least one more kareoke. The newest local team, Team Hawk, and their friends Phillip and Tobias are going to sing "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot!" 

__

"Fumbling his confidence   
And wondering why the world has passed him by"

The Animorphs had blocked it so that they would sing two at a time. Marco loved the stage, so he and Jake would go first. They had formed into a half circle in order to not upstage each other. Rachel and Oliver had worked on the blocking and voice with them. 

  
_Hoping that he's meant for more than arguments   
And failed attempts to fly, fly _

Tobias and Ax sang that, as a joke. Because while most attempts by ordinary humans to fly outside a jet would fail, Tobias really could fly. 

And together, because together they fought, the Animorphs sang…

__

"We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside" 

More than almost any other song, this one caught the spirit of the fight. The battle we fought was as much inside of us as out, because in order to deal with our outer demons, we had to deal with the inner ones as well.

__

"Dreaming about providence

And whether mice and men have second tries."

Jake followed Marco's boy soprano with a tenor. Their voices were a sharp contrast between them. It only made the song more poignant.

__

"Maybe we've been living with our eyes half open

Maybe we're bent and broken."

Cassie was radiant. Of the original Animorphs, she was changed the most by this experience. About two or three weeks ago she had had no idea what a beyblade was. Now she was captain of her own team. She was determined to earn her place. Rachel's flexible voice soared around hers.

"_We were meant to live for so much more_

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside"

All together they sang, every voice lifted. As part of the Blade Breakers, the only joy that I'd found that topped beyblading was the joy of music, of harmony in music. Music had given me comfort and strength during the dark days before the world championship. And when things looked down, when I was angry, upset, or afraid, music had been what soothed me. 

__

"We want more than this world's got to offer." Jake and Marco.

__

"We want more than this world's got to offer." Rachel and Cassie.

__

"We want more than the wars of our fathers." Tobias and Ax.

Then all together, _"And everything inside screams for second life."_

As one they sang, the song was fading out now, diminishing in volume as if the singer were moving off.

__

"We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live

We were meant to live."

It was my turn now. I took strength from the fact that the Animorphs had done it. Selima had done it. I was sure that I wouldn't look like a total fool. I stepped up back stage. Rachel gave me an underhand high five and said, "Go for it." 

Then the DJ said. "Hey ya'll. We've got a special singer tonight. Max from the Blade Breakers is going to sing 'Come Clean' by Hillary Duff and 'Complicated' by Avril Lavigne." 

There was a total uproar when I walked on stage. I was trembling inward. It was so funny, because I could face down hork bajir. I could brave a raging inferno and being trapped in morph for a friend, but I was too scared to sing on a stage. 

Then the music began, and I lost myself in it. 

__

"Let's go back

Back to the beginning

Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned

'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect

Trying to fit a square into a circle 

Was no lie

I defy."

I fell into the music. Suddenly, I wasn't in the crowded convention center. I was thinking back, thinking back to the beginning of this whole adventure three weeks ago. 

__

"Let the rain fall down

And wake my dreams

Let it wash away

My sanity

'Cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean"

Three weeks of being an animorph, of having the power to fly on my own wings, to run with the wind. I thought back on all that I had done. Had I truly been strong? There was something that I'd missed. It was three weeks of finding myself.

__

"I'm shedding

Shedding every color

Trying to find a pigment of truth

Beneath my skin

'Cause different

Doesn't feel so different

And going out is better

Than always staying in

Feel the wind!"

In a way it was what I wished for myself, to find myself. That was what I needed, what I wanted most as an Animorph, to find myself. 

__

"Let the rain fall down

And wake my dreams

Let it wash away my sanity

Cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean!" 

I was, that night when I came home I would come clean. I would never lie to my mother again. 

__

"I'm coming clean  
Let the rain fall

Let the rain fall

I'm coming clean

Let the rain fall down

And wake my dreams

Let it wash away

My sanity

Cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean

Let's go back

Back to the beginning" 

The opening chords sounded for Avril Lavigne, and suddenly, the entire dance hall was blown out of my mind. 

I saw her watching me from across the room.

She'd found the note.

She'd found the diary I'd planted. 

My mother stared back at me from across the crowded club.


	22. Why'd you have to go and make things so ...

****

The Generation

__

Chapter 22-Max

I stared at my mother across the room. Time seemed to stand frozen for one precious moment. It's a moment that I would remember for a lifetime. I knew her, and she knew me. It was a moment of total understanding. Then the music began, my last act of defiance. 

__

"Chill out   
Whatcha yellin' for  
Lay back   
It's all been done before  
And if you could only let it be  
You will see"

Aw man, was that my voice sailing up and down the notes? I felt, alive! It was the joy of music! I felt strong and weak and happy and sad all at once! I bared my soul to the world.   
  
_"I like you the way you are  
When we're drivin in your car  
And you're talkin to me one-on-one  
But you become  
Somebody else  
From everyone else  
Watchin your back  
Like you can't relax  
You tryin to be cool  
You look like a fool to me  
Tell me"_

It was! It was my voice! I had discovered the joy of music with a message, of choosing just the right song for the occasion. I discovered how to sing something and mean it, how to mean it with all my heart and soul.  
  
_"Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?  
I see the way you're actin like you're somebody else   
Gets me frusterated  
Life's like this you  
You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get  
And you turn it into  
Honestly, you promised me  
I'm never gonna find you fake it"_

That was for my mother. When all of this was over I would talk it out with her. I would convince her to let me fight, and I would never lie to her again!  
  
_"You come over unannounced  
Dressed up like you're somethin else  
Where you are and where it's at you see  
You're makin me  
Laugh out  
When you strike a pose  
Take off  
All your preppy clothes  
You know  
You're not foolin anyone  
When you become"_

Translation: Mother please don't hold me back! I know you're worried about me and I know you love me, but this is something that I have to learn and do and discover for myself!   
  
_"Somebody else  
Round everyone else  
Watchin your back  
Like you can't relax  
You tryin to be cool  
You look like a fool to me  
Tell me"_

Translation: I know you've got your secrets, I have mine. It hurts me when you hide from me. I'm your son, your miracle, your pride and joy. Can't you trust me with whatever it is you're hiding?  
  
_"Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?  
I see the way you're actin like you're somebody else   
Gets me frusterated  
Life's like this you  
You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get  
And you turn it into  
Honestly, you promised me  
I'm never gonna find you fake it"_

I looked at her from across the room. My mother had tears in her eyes. 

  
_"No no no  
(no no no)  
No no  
(no no no)  
No no  
(no no no)  
No no"_

No mother, never, never, _EVER_ again. I won't hide from you, and you won't hide from me! Deal?  
  
_"Chill out  
What you yellin for?  
Lay back   
It's all been done before  
And if you could only let it be  
You will see"_

Trust me mother! Like I trusted you for all of those years. Trust me to be brave and good and strong! And even though the whole thing seems outrageous, just chill! Because it will all turn out fine in the end!  
  
_"Somebody else  
Round everyone else  
Watchin your back  
Like you can't relax  
You tryin to be cool  
You look like a fool to me  
Tell me"_

Tell me mother. Why can't you trust me? Why can't you have faith that everything will turn out alright?  
  
_"Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?  
I see the way you're_

Acting like you're somebody else

Get's me frustrated

Life's like this you  
You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get  
And you turn it into  
Honestly, you promised me  
I'm never gonna find you fake it  
No no"

Oh yes, things were complicated alright, but only one thing wasn't; Our family. The audience was in a frenzy, dancing and crying and singing along with the music. I guess every teen can relate. Perhaps not with my own situation, but surely every teen has some kind of complication in their lives. My mother was even singing along! _  
_  
_"Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?  
(yeah yeah)  
I see the way you're actin like you're somebody else   
Gets me frusterated  
Life's like this you  
You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get  
And you turn it into  
Honestly, you promised me  
I'm never gonna find you fake it  
No no no."_

She had tears in her eyes. I did too. The music ended with a shock as keen as pain.  


I stood there for a moment. Then I smiled, gave a bow, and walked off stage. Jake's brother Tom was waiting for me in the shadows off stage. "Pretty good act Max of the Blade Breakers." He said with a malicious, demonic grin. "Too bad you'll have to wait awhile to get your kudos!" And with that he hit me from the back of the head. 

Stunned, I lay on the ground. With mounting terror, I heard the music play.

__

"Do you ever question your life

Do you ever wonder why

Do you ever see in your dreams

All the castles in the sky?"

It was the signal. The signal came too late. Tom placed his foot in the small of my back. "You're coming with me Blade Breaker." 

He pressed a small, cool feeling, spray canister to my neck. As I blacked out I heard…

__

"Oh tell me why

Do we build castles in the sky

Oh tell me why

All the castles way up high

Please tell me why

Do we build castles in the sky

Oh tell me why

All the castles way up high."

~tbc~

DUM DUM DUM!! Stay tuned after… _"These messages."_ (AKA: A bad, bad, Ax joke.)


	23. Descent

****

The Generation

Notes: There have been calls for Tyson. Therefore Tyson ye shall have! TysOOON?

**__**

Chapter 23-Tyson

Johnny came wading through the crowd. "Oliver's missing! And they took Max!" 

"WHATTTT!!" I demanded. 

"KEEP IT DOWN!" Hillary hissed, swatting me over the head with a newspaper. 

Ax, Ezimili, and Tobias's jaw dropped. "I thought that they'd take you Tyson." Tobias shivered. "Excuse me. Johnny, would you mind covering me while I demorph." 

"Where?" 

"Men's room." Tobias gulped. "I'm the group messenger. Ezimili and Ax should demorph as well." 

We followed Johnny, I pulled Kai and Rei aside as we went. "Kai, they took Max and Oliver. It's in motion now." 

"Gotcha." 

"Hey you guys!" Michael came sprinting over. "Have you seen Emily? She's been missing for at least half an hour. Some guy from the Sharing was going to offer her a biology scholarship, they went off to talk about it and never came back." 

"No we haven't Michael." I said, putting on my best game face. "We'll tell her you're looking for her if we see her." 

"Thanks." He headed off into the crowd to join Eddy and an ever-increasing crowd of teenage girls on the dance floor. 

"Man whore." I muttered, derisively. MAX MAX MAX MY MAX!! I tried reaching his mind. No way! I couldn't hear him anywhere! If they'd hurt him I'd kill them, kill them all!

I didn't realize that I'd spoken out loud. "Easy tiger." 

Tobias took cover in a broom closet. A few seconds later I heard. //This is Tobias! The yeerks are on the move! They've taken Max of the Blade Breakers, Oliver of the Majestics, and Emily of the All Starz! Johnny is taking Ax and Ezimili to change morphs! Hurry it up!//

A few seconds later Rachel and Cassie came barreling through the halls and met us outside the broom closet. 

"Okay, who morphs where?" Cassie asked. 

"Rachel and Cassie morph in the girl's room." Kai told them. "Hillary and Ezimili, Tyson and…"

"No way. I am not letting you into my head." I growled backing up. 

Kai chuckled darkly. "Rock, paper, scissors Tyson?"

"No way!" I growled. 

"Scared Tyson?" Kai insisted. 

"I am NOT SCARED!" I shouted. "I simply have secrets that I don't want to share!"

"Tyson I have BLUE hair, **_blue_**! I am way, way too recognizable! You, on the other hand have black hair. Black hair is much, much more common than blue hair. And then there's the face paint. It doesn't wash off the first time I wash it. I've tried, but I can't get it off. I'd be recognizable in an instant. We're just lucky that the convention center doesn't have a gleet bio filter or a guard. Otherwise I'd be fried six ways to Sunday." 

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!" I capitulated. "But we make a deal. You don't blab my secrets, you don't delve into my memories! Got that?" I demanded. 

"Okay." Kai said cheerfully. 

Tobias came out of the broom closet. "Okay, I'm clear." 

"How big is it in there?" Kai asked. 

"Big enough for one pair up." Tobias answered. 

"Well then, Hillary, Ezimili, in." Kai ushered them. "Johnny, clean up duty and then on guard." 

"Right." Johnny said with a total lack of enthusiasm. "Is this because you don't like me? I mean, what's not to like?" 

"Your attitude." Kai answered, as we walked down the hall towards the men's room. 

The two of us slipped into the handicapped stall. "Ready Kai?" I asked, with a wicked grin. 

"Ready." He answered. 

  
Kai closed his eyes and began to morph. 

The first thing that happened was his size. Kai began to shrink downward. His hair melted into his back and his skin became slimy. Kai's mouth and face began to melt into a pair of palps and a pair of antennae. It was pretty gross to watch. His arms and legs sucked in, becoming four tiny flippers. Kai's eyes closed and disappeared. His ears sucked into his head and his skin turned a very sickly gray. 

He was complete. Kai had become the enemy. Worse, in this case, the time limit meant death. Because of the need for Kandrona rays, if Kai became trapped, we'd lose him after three days. I set my watch and picked up Kai, holding him to my ear. 

Kai slithered his way into my ear. I felt nothing for a moment, and then incredible pain. Oh gods, no wonder Rei had collapsed! It felt, (in this case literally), like somebody was drilling right through my eardrum, into my brain. 

//Sorry.// Kai said in thoughtspeak. //I think…//

I felt the pain cooling slightly. "What did you do?" I asked outloud. 

//The yeerk produces painkillers.//

"Still hurts like…" Kai grabbed control of my mouth, hands, feet, legs. I felt him looking into my memories as he took control. Kai tried not to, but he ended up seeing, at the very least, how I felt about Max. Kai saw the incident at Ax's scoop. 

//Aw man, that HAD to suck.// Kai rolled his/my/our eyes. //Hang on, I think I've got it.// He moved my hand, turning it palm up, palm down. He tried to walk, stumbling slightly. 

//Watch it man!// I protested. //You're gonna get me all bruised up before we even get into a fight!// 

"Sorry." Kai murmured. "ACK! Okay this is weird. I'm using Tyson's voice instead of thoughtspeak, hang on…" 

//Hey you guys! Can you hear me?// He asked in thoughtspeak. 

//We hear you. Come on Kai, there's no time to waste!// Cassie told us. 

Kai began to walk. 

I'll tell you, the weirdest sensation I have ever encountered during the whole stupid war was somebody else moving my legs. 

We met Rachel/Cassie and Ezimili/Hillary outside the tunnel to the yeerk pool. We crept along, using the piles of building materials as cover. Kai pushed my bangs down over my eyes and kept my head low. Cassie and Hillary kept Rachel and Ezimili's hair shadowing their faces until we were out of the guard's sight. 

As soon as we were around a bend I ran. We ran and ran and ran. Max, oh gods Max please be all right! 

//Easy there Romeo.// Kai cautioned me. //We have to make it look believable.// 

//Believability can kiss my ass Kai. They're mine if they so much as lay a paw on Max!// 

Kai shook our head. "Tyson no, we can't do that." 

We came to a fork in the tunnel about a hundred yards from the pool. 

"psst! You guys!" A rock whispered. 

"Erek is that you?" Kai whispered. 

  
"Yeah, it's me. I'm not sure how you managed to fool the guard."

"He was sleeping." Hillary whispered. 

"Right. Come inside of my hologram. I'll protect you while you demorph and remorph. It took at least fifteen minutes for you to get down here, but here's the deal; we need to find some way to open the cages to create a diversion. Toby and her people are spread out and waiting for us. When that happens we use the mayhem to morph and attack. Listen also, I'm programmed against violence. I can't raise a finger, there's a group of chee spread out throughout the cavern at ninety degree angles. They'll be ready to take you in when you need to escape. Toby will lead the hork bajir into battle, but when they leave, we'll leave, and you'll leave too. We can't show any interest in Max and the others, and we need to wait until there's one from every team, otherwise the whole thing will be blown wide open. Visser three is up in orbit, it will take him only half an hour to get from here to there. My fellow chee have rigged the blade ship to have a bit of engine trouble in order to stall him for another half hour." 

I knew how to contact Max. //Kai, gimme control of my mouth for a second.//

"Tyson has something to say." Kai said calmly. "I'm disengaging. Everybody, get out and demorph, then switch places." 

Kai slipped out, and about five minutes later he was human again. 

There we stood, five humans and an andilite. "Look, I didn't tell you guys this before, but no matter where Max, is, for some reason, I can talk to him in thoughtspeak. Don't ask how, because I don't know, but that's what I can do."

I felt a rising sense of panic and fear that meant only one thing, 

//Max!// I cried in thoughtspeak. 

//Tyson?// Max asked groggily. 

//Where are you?//

//I'm not sure.// He answered. //It's a cave. Oliver and Emily are with me. Where are you?//

//A taxxon tunnel, with Erek and the others. Are you ready?//

~tbc~


	24. I've found a reason for me, to change wh...

****

The Generation

__

Chapter 24- Max

I came to in a cage. The bottom of the cage was dirt. Oliver and Emily were knocked out beside me. Emily was just coming to, but Oliver was out cold. Bruises marred his face and what I could see of his neck. "Emily." I hissed, "Emily wake up!" I shook her. 

"Stop the ride please mommy, I want to get off." Emily groaned. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked. "Where the hell am I?" Emily demanded as she sat up. 

"That's what I'd like to know." I answered. 

I looked outside the cage, and gasped. The scene around me was like something out of Dante's Inferno. In front of me I saw a row of stairs, rising up... up... Humans and Hork bajir went up and down them. To my right were more cages. Some contained humans, packed ten to a cage. Hork bajir had their own cages. People wept, and screamed, and cried. Some just stayed silent, defeated. 

Through the air, instead of the wasps in Dante's poem, were tiny, ball shaped robots with a single lens. I knew from Ax that these were hunter killer robots. 

Behind us was a pool of sludge. I saw the flitting yeerks within. That was what caused the pool to seethe. To my right, directly across from the pool, was a pair of piers. On one, hork bajir and humans waited quietly, under armed guard. On the other, humans, hork bajir, and other creatures were dragged, screaming and crying, to its end. The hork bajir who dragged them, boredly kicked their legs out from under them and shoved their faces under the water. 

They stayed there for a moment, before being pulled back up. I saw a sort of flash as the slug finished entering their ear. Of course, the taxxons were different. Taxxons were centipede like creatures with crab claws for hands, four jelly like eyes, and a tube like mouth filled with jagged, less than sanitary looking teeth. The taxxons were all voluntary controllers, and they were all cannibals. According to Ax they were perpetually hungry, so hungry that they didn't care what they ate, even if it was their own brothers. 

As I watched, I saw two hork bajir drag an odd, yellow, frog like creature to the end of the line near the deinfestation pier. The creature had two HUGE green eyes, a swept back head with a large lobe at the back, and four tentacles for arms. As I watched they threw it into the cage next to us. 

Then I heard it... 

//Max!// TYSON! HE WAS HERE! My eyes frantically searched the crowd for something that could be him. 

//Tyson?// I asked groggily. 

//Where are you?// Tyson asked. I felt his tender concern through our link.

//I'm not sure.// I answered. //It's a cave. Oliver and Emily are with me. Where are you?//

//A taxxon tunnel, with Erek and the others. Are you ready?//

//Yeah, I'm ready. We're in the cage nearest the stairs.// I told him. 

//Great, look, we need to know what kind of hosts the yeerks are using.//

I can answer that. The frog creature answered. Tell your andilite friend that they're using hork bajir, human, taxxon, gedd, and leeran.

//Tyson, the frog thing said that they're using hork bajir, human, taxxon, gedd, and leeran.//

There was a pause. //Max, Cassie says that this is bad. Leerans are psychic. You need to disable the leeran next to you as soon as the hork bajir come for it.//

//How?// I asked, irritated. Tick tock, there goes the clock!

//Cassie says to cut off the lobe at the back of the leeran's head. She says that Draciel should be able to do the job.//

//I quote Marco, this is totally and completely insane.//

//I know, but you need to find an opening to help us break open the cages and disable any leeran controllers that you see. They're pretty rare, but annoying and problematic to security. If you cut off the lobe at the back of their heads the yeerks won't be able to control the leerans, they'll go right out the other side.//

//Hello, reality check, I don't think that the leeran will _survive_ it...// I pointed out.

We can, leerans can regenerate. Our neighbor said helpfully. But we are psychic, if I, or any of my friends, get within three feet of you and escape, they will know your secret. As your friend Marco would say, we are a major security hassle. 

At the same time Tyson said. //Cassie says that leerans can regenerate. We're moving with Erek, give us the signal and we'll bust loose.// 

That was the moment when I saw the three of them. Kane struggled between two, big, buff bouncers from the party. Behind him, two hork bajir carried an unconscious Dunga between them. Behind them, Lee, covered in bruises, was practically being carried like a package. 

The cage was opened for the hork bajir, and the three prisoners were thrown in. //Tyson, they've got Kane, Dunga, and Lee. Dunga's out cold, but Lee and Kane look like they're pretty much okay.// 

//We're still waiting for three more.// Tyson grumbled. 

As I watched, I saw Erek slip into the shadows next to the enormous carved staircase in front of me.

Oliver and Dunga stirred. "Woooahh." Dunga moaned, sitting up. "Man, those walking razor blades suck." 

"No, really Einstein." Kane growled, rubbing a bruise on the side of his face. 

Dunga called Kane something that I won't repeat. 

Oliver's eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?" 

"I'm not really sure." Emily told him. "But wherever we are, we're stuck here."

"How are we gonna bust out of this place?" Lee wondered, looking around. "I mean, they have walking razorblade/goblin/gargoyle... things, giant centipedes, demented gray apes, and mutated, tentacle covered frogs." 

I am a leeran and I ought to take offence. The leeran replied. You are in a place called the yeerk pool. Take a look in the water. The leeran dipped a tentacle into the sludge of the pool and pulled up a yeerk. This is a yeerk. He threw it back into the water. They are kind of like your human stories about body snatchers, only you stay alive inside of your own head, unable to control your own body. The 'Walking Razors' are hork bajir. They were taken against their will. They are to be pitied. The centipedes are taxxons. They are evil enough to eat their own brethren. They gave themselves up on purpose and serve roles as clean up crew, diggers, engineers, and maintenance. The 'demented apes' are called Gedds, they really aren't very smart. And of course there are humans. You are prisoners here. No human has ever escaped the yeerks, although about seventy hork bajir have made it to freedom. 

"So basically you're telling us that we're toast?" Demanded Dunga. "There's no way that I'm going to accept that!" 

Not toast, your friends, the Blade Breakers had a plan. I am not sure where it is in terms of completion, but you must keep quiet and trust me! The leeran replied. 

All eyes were on me. "What? Hey, I thought I saw Tyson in the crowd somewhere, but I could have been wrong. I wasn't even supposed to be in on it unless they decided to take Tyson instead. And you, Froggy-Doggy! Stop reading my mind!" 

I will attempt not to do so. The leeran said, miffed. I was simply trying to be helpful.

"So what do we do Max?" Emily asked. 

I explained what Tyson and Kai wanted us to do. "And we can't give anything away." I finished. "When the Demolition Boys (whoever they choose), Wyatt, and Zeo come down here, we keep our mouth shut about any of this. And we need to pretend that we don't know. Dunga if you slip, then you, leeran, tell the yeerks that you told us all." I explained. 

I hate playing dumb, but oh well, if you insist. The leeran sighed. 

As I watched the crowd, I saw a group of six hork bajir make their way through the crowded cave walkways. I couldn't see whom they were carrying completely, but I did see them supporting a familiar, strawberry blonde head on their shoulders. BRYAN! The other two were probably Zeo and Wyatt. 

Your friends approach. The humans called Bryan, Zeo, and Wyatt are on their way. The Leeran said without looking up. They will be here in about two minutes. Zeo is furious. Wyatt is very upset, and Bryan's leg is twisted, he cannot walk without pain. I would advise you to leave him out of it. The visser is brutal, and he is on his way. If the Visser were to decide to strike back at Bryan for defying him, then he would not stand a chance at fighting back, and would probably end up being seriously injured.

"Don't count our friend Bryan out just yet." Lee reported. "He's taking a good look around, just pretending to be blacked out." 

Obviously, or I wouldn't be able to read his mind. The leeran said coyly. 

//Okay Tyson, I see them carrying Bryan between them, the leeran says that he's pretending to be blacked out, but that he's really taking a good look around him. The leeran also says that his leg is twisted, so he'll need help in a fight. I'm not sure, but I think that Zeo and Wyatt are with them.// I told him. 

//Great, we're in position.// Tyson told him. //We're hidden and ready to morph.// 

//Good.// I answered. 

The guards opened the cage and threw Bryan, Wyatt, and Zeo in. Then he cupped his hands to his mouth and said. "LISTEN UP! THE VISSER IS COMING IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES! EVERYBODY WITH A JOB TO DO! MOVE IT! THIS IS AUTHORIZATION OF SUB VISSER TWO!" Then he moved off. 

Bryan struggled to a sitting position. "Ow, hey, what are all of you doing here? They caught you too?" 

I nodded. "Yeah. Ironic that they went for the weakest blade breaker huh?" 

Bryan rolled his eyes. "I dunno, you almost had Spencer that one time. But whatever we're here for we'll probably find out when this Visser comes." 

Emily pointed. "Our, of course, you could use that wonderful brain you were born with and just look over there." She pointed towards the piers. 

Zeo, Wyatt, and Bryan watched as a little kid was dragged down the pier, screaming and crying and kicking. The hork bajir dragging him rolled her eyes. "Kids, stupid brat. Take him." She told the hork bajir at the end. "Honestly, what are they thinking taking little kids? It's the big daddies we **need**." 

"Orders from the top." The hork bajir on the pier grunted. He boredly shoved the child's head under the water. A few seconds later the child was pulled out and held. Wyatt gulped as he saw the slug disappear into the child's ear. 

"That's harsh." Bryan commented. "They're gonna do that to us?"

"What was in its ear?" Wyatt asked, terror evident in his eyes. "What was in its ear?" 

"Some kind of slug. Somehow the slugs in the pool can control people. Look at the kid, he's moving off without a word." Lee explained. 

"Looks like something out of the Inferno." Zeo shivered. 

"You'd know a lot about that wouldn't you Zeo?" Dunga asked with a sneer. "You've been through it with Dr. Zaggar, and voluntarily too." 

"Dunga if you weren't twice my size I'd beat the crap out of you here and now!" Zeo growled. 

"Okay kiddies." Emily intervened. "Listen up, when this Visser comes, we spread out into a half circle, with Max foremost, and we aim our Beyblades at whatever is in sight. Then when Max gives the signal we fire. Got that?" 

They looked at me for confirmation. "Yup, that's the plan. Maybe we can take some of them down with us." I explained. 

"Suicidal." Bryan smirked. "I like it." 

I heard some kind of alarm go off. Galard, the language of interstellar trade. The Leeran explained. The Visser is on its way. And the yeerks are ten cages away from me. Whatever you plan to do, you'd better hurry. 

I felt a wave of fear. I looked up at the ship that entered through a hatch in the top of the cavern. Don't ask me how, but I knew that something evil, horribly evil, had entered the cavern. We all looked up. 

The ship was blacker than the darkest night I've ever seen, it was blacker than a moonless, foggy night. It was shaped like a medieval battle axe. The Blade Ship The Leeran explained. Every Visser has one. It is heavily armed and armored. Few ships can match it in battle.

Emily shivered. "I don't believe in psychic things, but that ship is giving off seriously bad vibes." 

It should, the creature on it is so evil, that… even those who don't believe in psychic powers can sense the "bad vibes" it gives off. Many an andilite has looked at their own death when they see that ship. The leeran explained. 

Bryan shivered, the closed his eyes. When he opened them, I saw that the pupils had narrowed, the irises were slowly changing from pale, sky blue into an icy, glacier color. I knew what had happened. Bryan was calling on the cyber programming he'd been 'Enhanced' with. I was glad, we'd probably need it.

Some part of me, deep, deep inside of my own soul was terribly, terribly afraid. Not just afraid, I was ready to scream in total, abject terror. Oh gods. What was I supposed to do against something that big, that horrible? 

Visser three is the only andilite controller. The Leeran explained. A controller is a person who has been infested. He is coming here to oversee your infestation.

"The only what?" Zeo demanded, craning his neck to see. 

A controller, a being whom the yeerks have infested. Answered the Leeran. The Andilites are the yeerks' worst enemies.

The hork bajir were slowly working their way up the cages. They were five cages away from the Leeran. 

We stood up as the Visser approached. "Hello." I said with a cold smile. "You must be the head honcho around her, slug."

//In a very short time Max the Blade Breaker, you will also be a 'slug.'// Visser 3 said with a superior eye smirk. 

"You will have our bodies, but you will never have our spirits." I said, feeling braver than I felt. I spoke loudly so that the others nearby would hear me. Several humans in the cage across from us cheered. "That philosophy has resonated throughout our history. If you opened your mind to learn from others, you would have known this." 

The entire pool was silent. They looked at us expectantly. Controllers were punching their hands eagerly, ready for a fight. Human hosts in the cages were listening eagerly. The hork bajir hosts were murmuring among themselves. 

The hork bajir were three cages away from the Leeran. //Arrogant human. I'll show you the error of your ways.// The Visser smirked. 

"Try it." I said, with as close to a sneer as I have ever had. The others were moving into position. I raised my Beyblade at Visser 3's face. I saw a flicker of fear cross his face.

But I was not aiming for the _Visser_. The Visser was the _least_ of my concerns. "Ready?" I asked the others. 

"LET IT RIP!" We shouted in unison. 

Nine Beyblades shot in every direction. Leading the pack, Draciel emerged, followed by Trygator, Unicolyon, Cyber Dragoon, Vortex Ape, Galeon, Falborg, and Cerberus. 

The hork bajir carrying the Leeran ducked. The beyblades sailed past them, ricocheting off the cages and slamming through the lobe at the back of the leeran's skull. The leeran was now missing half of his head. He/She/It screamed in pain. The Beyblades bounced between the cages, smashing locks. Humans and hork bajir broke free. 

"RUN FOR IT!!" I shouted to them. "GET OUT OF HERE!" 

The look of hatred on the Visser's face was enough to make me want to wither. I saw Toby and six of her people emerge from Erek's hologram and merge with the crowd. "EVERYBODY! I SHOW YOU FREE! FOLLOW ME!" 

The hork bajir roared. "SHOW US FREE!" They guided humans, hork bajir, and a smattering of Leerans towards the exit to the convention center. Our leeran stumbled, but Toby scooped it up under her arm like a package. 

Blades clashed. //Ready Max? I hope you're okay out here, because it is HELL!// Tyson shouted. I saw, faintly, a Kodiak bear, a gorilla, a wolf, a hyena, an andilite, and a cheetah seem to melt into the crowd. A holographic emitter, of course! Erek couldn't have hidden them from sight during the fight. They had probably built a holographic emitter from the parts that Ezimili had rescued from her craft and the Grotto. //We're almost out… okay everybody listen to the Kodiak bear over here. Hork bajir and leerans go out the left hand fork, humans, take the right! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!// Tyson bellowed in thoughtspeak. 

The hork bajir were fighting, covering their retreat. And more heartening, they were winning. Visser three did not give chase. 

Visser three glared at me. I felt like hiding. I could feel his anger. I could feel his hatred. 

//Call back your beyblades or I will kill you all right now.//

I laughed. "Visser wasn't it? I thought you needed us as hosts? But alright. You got your wish." We called our beyblades back, but not before giving the Visser multiple, bloody gashes across his flanks, and when Falborg came back, he cut off the Visser's right eyestalk. 

The look of malicious anger on my face was almost equal to the Visser's as his right stalk eye fell to the ground. I noticed with satisfaction that Visser three's tail blade had chunks missing out of it from where we'd hit him. "You know Visser," I said with a smirk. "If you want us so badly, there's always a price to pay, and you'll pay it… how often did that leeran say?" I asked Emily. 

"Three days." She answered with a satisfied smirk.

"You'll pay it every three days, in rebellion, in a few hundred 'hosts' here or there… in damage done to buildings and cages. My history teacher called it 'Folly.' The definition was any policy that is contrary to self interest." I said, with an air of superiority. 

The Visser turned his stalk eye on the hork bajir controllers that had come up behind him. //Take them, take them to the pier, infest them!//

The cage was opened. The others struggled, twisted, trying to get free. Dunga managed to knock one of them unconscious. Bryan made a lunge, straight for the Visser. I gasped. Visser three laughed and knocked him aside before two of the hork bajir managed to catch Bryan. 

I was dragged towards the pier. The controllers were cheering. I didn't fight. I had done all that I could, all I could... But I was still Max… still the weakest Blade Breaker… I didn't have Tyson's guts, or Kenny's brains... I didn't have Hillary's attitude. I wasn't empathetic and compassionate like Rei. I wasn't strong and silent like Kai. I was just… just a nobody… I was out of options, and also out of hope…

Then Ax's words came back to me. 

__

I am the servant of the people…

I allowed myself to be dragged to the pier.

__

I am the servant of my prince…

I let myself go. I was facing an existence worse than death. 

__

I am the servant of honor…

But all those people and hork bajir, they would carry on the fight, as in my mind I reaffirmed what I had known all along.

__

My life is not my own when the people have need of it…

I took a deep breath as the hork bajir plunged my head beneath the pool. 

__

My life is given, for the people, for my prince, and for my honor…

The yeerk touched my ear, slithering inside. The pain! The pain!

My head was yanked up. "Mom…" I whispered faintly, as the yeerk made contact. 

It opened my memories. It moved my hands. It took a step. 

"Didlit 425 reporting for duty Visser." The yeerk said calmly. 

The others, controllers now, were straightening up around me, murmuring names and ranks. 

//It's okay.// The yeerk said calmly. //I'm one of the pacefists.//

//So I've been told.// 

"Didlit 425, you are in charge of bringing the Blade Breakers to heel. You are promoted to Sub-Visser 65. Be sure to make the human Max suffer for what he and his friends did to my eye." Visser 3 had morphed to human and was quickly demorphing. I noticed that the cuts and scratches on his body and the missing eye were completely healed. //Make him remember that whatever damage he does to me will only be healed when I morph.//

"Yes Visser."

//Dismissed.// Visser three waved his hand airily on his way back to the blade ship. 

//I failed.// I whispered softly. //I failed.// I was stuck in the back of my head, crying. 

//No Max. I think you'll see, when you're older, that this battle was just as much won as it was lost.// Didlit said, as we made our way in silence up the long tunnel back to the convention center. //You just don't see it. Think of an ant on a chessboard during a game. When you look from below, every move feels like an earthquake. But if the ant were to grow a few inches, he'd see what's going on. We'll never know what good we did until its all over, Max. Let's chill and ride this one out.//

An ant? Yes, I suppose we are ants. Chill? Easy for her to say, and there was something feminine about the yeerk's voice. Maybe it was just me. 

//So what form would you want?// I asked. 

//hmmm...// She thought for a moment. //I think a falcon. That way I could keep an eye on everybody. I think two of them wanted to be hork bajir. Four of them wanted to be human. Two of them wanted to be wolves, probably because they like Cassie so much. They used to be assigned to some of the kids in the Vo-Ag club. They liked the way she dealt with animals, and her strength and spirit.//

//I wish I was strong.// I sighed, as Didlit powered her way up the stairs. 

//You are. You just don't see it.// Didlit said with a mental smile. //Where were we supposed to meet the Animorphs again?//

//Meeting room, the one above the DJ booth with curtained windows looking out on the dance floor.// I told her. 

//Oh. I've got the one now, thanks.// Didlit turned in the appropriate direction. 

We opened the door. There was nobody there. "Um..." Didlit began. 

"In here SubVisser 56." Jake's voice came from inside. "We've got a portable pool and kandrona set up. I'm sorry if we interrupted your feeding." 

I/Didlit stepped inside. "Is there a possibility Jake, of a bird of prey morph? I think your hork bajir friends could use a watch woman." 

"I think Cassie will be able to help you there. We've got five." Jake said as he closed the door. "As sub visser you're in charge of this group." 

"Thank you." Didlit said with a smile. She bent my head down low over the cooler that Jake indicated. I felt something slither out of my ear, and then I was me again. 

I sat back, kneeling by the cooler. 

"Max. Max are you alright?" Cassie asked worriedly. I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

"Yeah…" He said softly. "Yeah, I think so." 

"Good, because there's one more thing to do tonight, before we go." She said with a smile. "Come and see." 

Cassie led me downstairs to the dance floor. Tyson and the others were waiting for us. "Hey man, come and watch." 

Mom, my wonderful, glorious mother, stood on stage. The DJ was saying. "Judy, coach of the All Starz would like to sing for us, and dedicate this next song to her son Max, of the Blade Breakers." 

Mom smiled. The music started. It brought tears to my eyes….

__

"I'm not a perfect person

There's many things I wish I didn't do

But I continue learning

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you

It's something I must live with everyday

And all the pain I put you through

I wish that I could take it all away

And be the one who catches all your tears

That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you

And the reason is you

And the reason is you

And the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you

I've found a reason to show

A side of me you didn't know

A reason for all that I do

And the reason is you…"

I heard the silence that makes a performer weep. Then I began to clap. The entire auditorium roared in applause. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey." Jake said with one of his small smiles. "I think that's as close to an apology as you're going to get." He said with a smile. "But we need to pack up and get out before the… Generous people…" (Meaning the yeerks.) "Catch up with us." 

I trembled, shaking. "Right." 

We turned, and headed back up to the meeting room to wait.


	25. Evacuation and Evaluation

The Generation Chapter 25- Tyson 

Bryan sent me to get Tala and the others. Erek and no more than four Chee were standing guard outside the meeting room. Toby arrived as well, carrying a holographic emitter disguised as one of those huge radio flashlights. It made her invisible to those around her. Erek not only sound proofed the room, but put up a hologram of an empty room and a force field. 

"Tala!" I shouted, sprinting towards the table. "Hey Tala!" 

"Hmm?" Tala asked. He was sipping soda. Robert was sedately drinking coffee, but I saw Tala's hand inching up his thigh. 

"Bryan twisted his leg. He wants to talk to you, do you think you could find Spencer and Ian. And Robert, Johnny said to come get you and Enrique. He's found Oliver, and you will never believe his story, but Oliver had a pretty tough night and he'd like to go home." 

Robert sighed reluctantly. "Oh well, there's the week to come." He stood up and stretched. 

Tala followed. He turned his head, made a gesture, a sign across the room. "Great, Ian and Spencer should be here…"

"Find Bryan yet?" Asked a voice at my elbow. 

I jumped. "Hi Ian. I found him."

"Silly goose twisted his ankle." Tala rolled his eyes. 

"Tyson!" Enrique called. He slipped under Spencer's massive elbow and almost tumbled head first to the ground trying to slow down. "You found Oliver?" 

"Yeah, we did." I sighed. "You would not believe his story, or you might. I wouldn't know." 

They followed me upstairs. I was not bothered on the way. I saw no sign of the Chee, not the slightest ripple as we passed them and entered the first layer of the hologram. 

Tala paused, peering somewhere to my right. "Something wrong Tala?" I asked. 

"I thought I saw something, must by my cyber eyes getting the better of me." 

I gulped, if Tala could see through holograms…. I opened the door. 

Nothing was there. 

"Erek?" I called. 

"Come, IN!" Rachel's hand shot out and yanked me back in. 

"AH!" I cried, almost jumping out of my skin. 

There was a shimmering in the air around me. "What the hell?" Enrique demanded. I thought that Robert would say something like… 'How uncouth!'

He didn't. The only thing out of Robert's mouth was, "Woah!"

"Cool!" Ian exclaimed. 

"Intriguing." Spencer commented, looking around him. 

"I KNEW IT!" Tala exclaimed. "A hologram!" 

"And forcefield/soundproofing too." Erek said smugly. "It took five of us to set it up." 

Sure enough, two chee were directly inside the door. One of them calmly shut the door. 

The next things that they saw were Ax, Ezimili, and Toby. "Who or what on or off the earth are they?"

//I am an andilite.// Ax answered. //My name is Aximili Esgarrouth Isthil.//

//You know **me** Robert.// Ezimili smirked. //My name is Ezimili Ani Maradak, Daughter of Noorlin Sirinial Coraff and Forlay Esgarrouth Maheen; Sister of WarPrince Elfangor Sirinial Shamtoul, to use his full title.// And with that she began to morph. 

Robert dropped his coffee. A small noise came out of his throat. "You're a princess?" He asked. 

"Actually, War Prince is a military rank among my people, a high honor." 

"We're waiting for Team Psykick, the Saint Shields, the Tigers, and the All Starz." Johnny checked his watch. "They're going to come after us. We need to get out of here ASAP, tick tock!"

"Who?" Tala asked. 

"The yeerks, I'll explain once we're all back at my house." Max said calmly. "But they're not nice. They went after Oliver, and Bryan twisted his ankle trying to get away. Tyson, Kai, Cassie, Rachel, Hillary, and Ezimili went down to get them, to get me too. We're lucky that they're not exactly…"

"Totally solidarit?" Oliver asked. "Is that even a word?"

"I got the idea though." Ian growled. 

"How do we get out?" Robert asked. 

Johnny wordlessly tossed him the keys. 

That was when Judy and the All Starz came through the door, followed by the Tigers. "MAX!!" Judy cried. 

"SUPER MOM!" Enrique joked. 

"You have no idea." Judy murmured as she and Max ran to each other. "Max, MaxMax! I'm so sorry that I ignored you! I'm sorry I said those things! Can you forgive me?" 

"Momma! I'll give you a second chance if I can have one too!" Max wailed. "I'm so sorry! I felt horrible having to hide from you! I really did!"

"You did what you had to Maxie! You did!" Judy sobbed into her son's hair. "And it all turned out okay! Really!"

"Um… this is like the ending to a movie that I missed." Michael said, blinking. 

"You knew about all of this?" Emily asked. 

"I was planning for it." Max said darkly. "But I thought they'd target Tyson, not me, or Kai, I mean, they're both way better bladers." 

"Are you sure about that?" Asked Toby. "I do not understand many human things, and almost as little about Beyblading, but I know the yeerkish mentality. They targeted _you_ Max, because the yeerks believe in the strength of the small. You may be the weakest, but I think that what mattered to them was that your heart be strong, not your physical strength. Perhaps your friend Didlit told you?" 

"Um…" Max blushed, "Something like that." 

"Ah, human modesty. Believe in yourself Max." Toby smiled, leaning back against the wall. "It may be what saves you in the end." 

"Can somebody tell us exactly what is going on?" Eddy insisted. "Coach?" 

"It's a long story boys, I still don't understand all of it." Judy said with a smile. "When we've gotten everybody out in one piece I'll tell you."

"Johnny and Robert are working on that." Enrique said calmly. 

That was when Ozuma and the Saint Shields, followed by Kane and the Psykicks entered the room, lead by Zeo and Wyatt. "Wow! Sweet set up!" Zeo exclaimed. "Hey! You guys are the same species as that creature Visser 3!" 

//Not the same. Visser 3 is a controller. What you saw was his host body.// Ax said, miffed. 

"Andilite host?" Judy's face twisted in rage. "AN **ANDILITE** HOST? I'LL **KILL** THE GENIUS WHO THOUGHT THAT UP!" The Animorphs, Ax, and Ezimili winced. "Who… who… who else have they taken?" 

"Taxxons, some leerans, but they survived, a species called the Garatron, and they're working on the Anati." Ezimili recapped. "There are also…" She hesitated. 

"Also?" Judy's face was red with rage. "Also??" Then her face turned white. "Who…"  
  


"There are signs that they may have made it to the Andilite Home World." Ezimili said, beginning to demorph. "My parents decided that Earth, with the Animorphs, was safer than the homeworld." 

Judy's face paled. She fell back into one of the chairs, head in her hands. When she removed them, I saw tears running down her cheeks. "How could I have been so dumb? Thinking that it wouldn't happen, and it did." 

//It's okay…// Ezimili said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. //It has to be.// 

"No… never… it won't be okay until the yeerk empire is… is ripped to shreds… every last one… slashed… stomped… starved… it doesn't matter, as long as they die…" Tears streamed from her eyes. 

"Judy, you can't break down on us now!" Jake said frantically. "We need to get everybody out… can you morph?" 

"Yes… but nothing appropriate for guard duty." Judy said softly. "Wait… one… maybe two but it would cause a huge stir." 

"Then wait until we make it to the bus, then morph and be ready to fight." Jake told her. 

"How do you… how do you know about morphing?" She asked, voice a hoarse whisper. 

Jake smiled wanely. "How do you think five children and an andilite could hold out for three years? Well… almost three." 

Judy jumped, looking up at him. "And you… you lead them?" 

Jake nodded. "We call ourselves the Animorphs. We used the BBA as a cover for this mission. We'll be able to use the contacts too. I'm sorry that we caused so much trouble for you."

"No…" She shook her head. "I needed to be woken up, because I couldn't forget about it, not this late in the game." 

"It's ready." Johnny said, rushing in. "Robert says hurry!" 

"Right, I'm going to divide you up into five groups, each one with a chee to cover them. Erek, take group one. Toby, go with group two. Judy, go with group three. Tobias with group four. Ezimili with group five." He started counting us off into five groups, like choosing teams for dodge ball or something. I was in group three with Max and Rachel. Jake sent us out one by one in odd intervals. We crept down the hall, keeping our voices down. 

Judy's fists were clenched into a white-knuckle grip. "Tyson, do you know the name of Visser 3's host body?" She whispered finally as we crossed the parking lot. 

"I think it was… Alloran Semitur Corass." 

Judy looked like she was ready to faint. "Alloran…" She murmured softly. "Ironic that… So much that I've missed… hiding too long… stupid, stupid, stupid…" 

Tobias was standing on the edge of the passenger window. //Hey, they're coming Robert, group three, and Judy's with them.//

The door opened soundlessly. "Soundproofing and holograms are online." Erek reported. "It's alright to speak now." 

Judy nodded, before sitting down, but she didn't speak. I looked at her carefully. She was trembling. That's when it hit me. Judy, Max's mighty super mom, was afraid. 

"An andilite controller." She murmured at last, shaking her head. "Poor Alloran." 

We all made it safely into the bus. Robert started up the engine. We began to roll away from the convention center. 

"You're an android." Tala stated, looking at Erek.

"That I am, the most powerful computer currently on planet Earth, you're looking at him." Erek said smugly. "But I'm impressed that you were able to see through our holograms. My creators, the Pemalites, took their technology directly from the Elemist's fleet, known as the Multitude. The Elemist later ascended to Space Time." 

"Ascended?" Asked Oliver, "What does that mean?" 

"It's a long and painful process, and it would result in the person who ascended losing everything that made them **_them_**. The person in question slowly moves from themselves, to a Cyborg, to an android. As they get stronger and evolve, their awareness expands and they are able to warp space/time. The final leap for the Elemist came when Crayak threw him into a black hole and destroyed the Multitude. Somehow the Elemist survived to learn how to warp time and space." Erek explained. "The Elemist continued to thwart the Crayak from where he sat in space time. Crayak grew so frustrated that he followed the Elemist into the same black hole, and they're still in there today. I have been gathering data for awhile now, and I believe that the Elemist and Crayak have decided on Earth as their last stand. That is why there is so much going on at once. First the continued strife within the BBA, then the Yeerks, and all of these problems that the Animorphs have been having with time space interference."

"Wait a minute." Enrique demanded. "Woah! Woah! Woah! You're saying that we're involved in this?" 

"Oh yes Enrique of the Majestics. All of you are in way over your heads." Erek said with a sigh. He shook his canine head ruefully. "I do regret telling you all this, but back on the Pemalite homeworld, we too had Bit Beasts. We called them the Remnants. They claimed to be the last of a species that had been drawn into a black hole when their star had gone nova. They are the only species ever to have ascended as a whole. How else would they be able to warp space time? How else…" He turned to Tala. "Could Wolborg have sent my sensors skyrocketing off the charts?" 

"Machines…" Tala murmured. "They… we… what exactly am I anyway? The point is that everything exists in layers. Humans as a species tend to only see the outside of things. I don't like to be pessimistic, but I completely agree with the Philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Ever since I was two my life has been lived in his 'State of Nature.' Lately… I've kind of been seeing beyond the layers you know? I've been seeing and hearing beyond what humans normally would see and hear." 

"You saw through a hologram designed by easily the oldest being in the galaxy." Erek said with a smile. "I think your vision will do you credit in the battle to come." 

"Wait a minute." I said suddenly. "Jake, the Demolition Boys are Cyborgs. Will they be able to morph with their cyber enhancements?"

"I… I didn't think of that…" Jake said slowly. 

"They will." Judy said with a smile. "Their cyber components are made of the same alloy that forms the specialized cells necessary for morphing. You could say that Boris and Voltaire broke the patent on that count." 

I sighed in relief. Good thing I'd thought of that. I didn't want to think about what would have happened. I shivered. 

Judy sighed. "So you boys want to tell me exactly what happened?" 

I pulled open the cooler. "Guess." 

Comprehension dawned on Judy's face. "YEERKS!" She hissed. 

"They targeted the BBA. Visser 3 had figured out that if he took one team from each of the major Beyblading centers that he could set up a sort of web around the world. He didn't count on what we call the Peacenik faction of his forces. It was made up of yeerks who believed that there was a better way than infestation, they just hadn't found it yet. The leader of the peace faction gave us a warning about what was going to happen. He fixed it so that all the yeerks assigned to the attack tonight were members of his group. They're going to stage the disappearance of the nine members assigned and blame it on the 'andilite bandits' that's us by the way. In exchange the members that we captured are allowed to choose one morph and go _nothlit_ in it." Cassie explained. "The whole _nothlit_ thing is an option that we give captured yeerks. Either be trapped and avoid contact until the end of the war, or starve." 

"Morph? Nothlit?" Steve blinked, rolling the unfamiliar words over his tongue. 

//The shape shifting ability that I have already demonstrated is a piece of biotechnology that we andilites use to acquire the DNA of any given animal or being and transform into that being for two of your hours at a time. However, after the two hours, the morpher in question is trapped, unable to return to their original form.// Ezimili explained. //Until recently, it was only we andilites who could use this power. However, my elder brother, a brave and powerful andilite War Prince named Elfangor Sirinial Shamtoul gave a group of five humans the power to morph.// She nodded towards the Animorphs. 

//Then, recently, the Blade Breakers walked in on a meeting.// Ax explained. //We gave them the option of joining us. On a training mission, we discovered a place we call The Grotto. In it we found the remnants of an andilite fighter craft, as well as preserved andilite technology. We also found the name of the Andilite in question, Judin Olarn Sorath. Judin was a famous veteran from the battle to save the Hork Bajir world. She earned the nickname Berserker Judin. We also found leads pointing to the BBA. We infiltrated the BBA to search for Judin, but every lead came up blank. Then, the Peace Faction's leader, Illim, gave us a tip off that the yeerks would attempt to infest prominent members of the BBA. Since then we have been tracking the teams, one by one, to make sure that they are not controllers.//

"And we decided to reverse the damage that the yeerks would do the BBA and turn it into damage done to them." Rachel explained, "Kai called it 'Total Disruption.' The yeerks want to expand, they'll find other ways, but we can use this chance to expand ourselves." 

Up front I heard an affirmative noise from Robert. "You want to teach us how to use this morphing technology." 

"That's right. Look, we haven't even told you Blade Breakers yet…" Jake said hesitantly. "We didn't want to accidentally jinx ourselves by telling you until your training period was over… We used the blue box once, on a kid named David. We tried to get him to join the team. David turned on us. With a swiss army knife of four morphs David almost killed us. Since then we've thought about what happened. As we watched the Blade Breakers train and grow as a team, we realized what we'd done wrong."

"One," Marco ticked off the points on his fingers. "David had nothing to lose if he sold us out. Two, David was less experienced with the dynamics of the team. He was an outsider, or felt like it at least. He felt alienated. Three, we didn't know much about David's personality. We weren't sure where he'd fit in and he turned out to be a kind of afterthought." 

Cassie put in, tactfully. "So we decided that you would all have an advantage over David. A.) Beyblade teams would be more dedicated to the cause, especially the top teams. You all knew that on Earth there is a balance and you would understand that the yeerks posed a threat to the balance. B.) Unlike David they had everything to lose if they lost a battle. C.) Their dynamics as a team had already been established. They knew each other well and they knew how to deal with problems within their team. D.) They already had a leader who was experienced with leading, a leader who wouldn't make the same mistake that Jake did and alienate his team mates."

//So we kept an eye on all of you, one by one, first to make sure that you were yeerk free, and second to gauge your personalities.// Tobias explained. //But we also had the experiences of the Blade Breakers to draw on. They told us that if allowed latitude in your separate teams you'd probably be unstoppable.// 

//And so we began preparations for a mission to the toughest target in the yeerk's occupied areas, the yeerk pool.// Ax finished. //At the same time we knew that there was so much that could go wrong. We needed a way to get into the yeerk pool without being seen. Erek and I set up hiding stations using Chee holographic technology where we could demorph and remorph without being seen. Half of us would go, the rest of us would hang back and run interference where necessary. If needed we could have been down to the yeerk pool in twenty minutes.// 

"And now you have to make the same choice that we did." Kai said calmly. "You can morph and fight, or stand by and watch Earth be destroyed."

"Now is that really any choice at all?" Mariah asked. "I mean, come on, of course we'll do it." 

"Yeah." Kevin said with a soft smile. "We saved the world before right? What are the odds we can do it again?"

"And while we were the ones you were saving the world from," Tala said with that small, serene smile of his, "You can be sure that we will atone for what we have done in the past." 

Silence hung in the air for a moment. "Think on it you guys." Jake said with a small, crooked smile. "This isn't a decision made lightly." 

"And so begins the road to enlightenment." Ozuma said with his usual cold smirk. 


	26. How I came to grips

****

The Generation

__

Chapter 26- Michael

We were crammed end on end like sardines in a can that night. Eddy and I were stuck sharing a bed and some people still ended up on the floor. Showering was split between night and day. No more than fifteen minutes and showering in PAIRS. Woah. Did I say we were crammed? It was a good thing that Max's dad had gone back to New York. Judy and Cassie made plans for the next morning. I heard them downstairs. 

Tala and Robert had the other bed. I didn't think that they'd mind. I could have sworn I'd seen them making out at the dance. Of course, it could have been some other red head and purple head making out. They weren't upset. Ozuma and Joseph had the floor. Ozuma was making battle plans or something downstairs. Tala and Robert were taking their turn to shower. 

We were alone. I rolled over on my back. "Hey Eddy, what do you suppose Tala and Robert are doing in there? Which one do you think is the girl?" 

Eddy growled something under his breath. "Do you have something against that Michael?" 

"Nope, I just think that it's funny." I chuckled. "Why? You're not Gay are you?" I smirked. 

Eddy grumbled something, rolling over so that I couldn't see his face. "I didn't hear you." 

"BISEXUAL OKAY!" Eddy snapped. "I don't see how it matters and I don't see why you should care suddenly when Tala and Robert get caught!" 

I jumped about a mile. "I'm sorry Eddy!" I hissed. "I'll be more careful not to hurt your feelings next time!" 

Silence. 

"Eddy?" I asked. 

"Hmm?" He asked, back to me. 

"How do I tell?"

"How do you tell what?" He asked. 

"If I'm gay… if somebody else is gay…" I said softly, shyly. 

"If you kiss a guy and you like it you're gay." Eddy snapped. 

"So-rry!" I snapped. "What's got you so iffy?" I demanded. 

"Because that's just it Mike." Eddy said, turning to face me. "There IS no way to tell if a person is gay or straight from the outside, not unless they tell you!" 

I was startled. I saw tears streaming from Eddy's face. "There's no way to tell from the outside. We come from all walks of life. Black, white, Asian, Native American, lawyers, doctors, actors, writers… We are as hard to detect as a controller is Michael! We don't want to be found. We don't want to hide, but we see no choice. Its either that or be hung from a fence with bullets in our brains. It happens Michael. We grow and we lose ourselves in the cities. We abandon ourselves to an unforgiving society. We make the choice, we can lose what is intrinsically valuable to us, the freedom of love or we can live for love and lose our freedoms of employment, of expression, of having children and keeping them. It's misery Michael! You just don't see it because in order to keep our dignity we hide from… from everybody." 

I closed my eyes, trying to block out his expression. Eddy is easily the most happy go lucky, the most positive and optimistic member of the team. Eddy **_crying_**? I shivered, but I knew. 

I turned to face him… I had to know… I leaned in, slowly, so that he could get away. I brought my lips to his. 

I felt something like a jolt, almost like electricity, but pleasurable. He leaned into it. He opened his mouth and I slipped my tongue in, seeking comfort, seeking security. 

WHAT WAS I DOING??

I pulled apart, panting. "What the Hell do I think I'm doing?" I demanded of myself. 

Eddy smiled wanly, like he recognized something about me. "Just go to sleep Michael." He rolled over. "Jake did say to sleep on the whole thing." 

I didn't even dream that night. 

****

~Max~

I dreamed. And unlike the last three weeks or so, it wasn't a screaming nightmare. An old man, glowing blue with energy, appeared in my dreams. He was kind, pleasant. 

MAX!! His voice rippled through me, through the universe. YOU DID AS YOU SHOULD MAX!! ALL IS RIGHT! THE ONLY THING THAT REMAINS IS FOR YOU TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THE PAST. I CANNOT HELP YOU WITH THAT. HOW YOU REACT IS FOR YOU TO DECIDE. 

I woke up. It was still dark. The clock on the wall said, 3:30 a.m. That early? 

I was on the bottom of a half dressed pile of Blade Breakers. Tyson's head was resting between my shoulder blades and Kai's elbow was shoved up against my stomach. Rei's head was buried in Kai's chest. Kenny had fallen off the bed in his sleep and was snoring. I heard the soft hum that meant that even Dizzi had gone to sleep. 

It took a few minutes to extricate myself from the pile. I went to the window. In the tree outside was a single butterfly, shimmering with energy. "Hey Elemist." I whispered. "I did the right thing?" 

The butterfly flapped its wings, up, down, up, down. It didn't answer. 

"Maybe, but there's still one thing left to do." I said. 

I tiptoed downstairs. Mom was sitting on the couch. She was looking up at the ceiling. I though she was asleep until I heard. "Max, what are you doing up?"

"I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep." I said, sitting down next to her with a sigh. 

"Max, look… I haven't been very honest with you… I'm not human… or I wasn't…"

My head snapped up. Had Marco been right? "You… you aren't?"

"My full name is Judin Olarn Sorath." Mom told me. "I… I was trapped in morph. I didn't want to go back to the Andilite homeworld. I was trapped trying to save Tala's life in a fire. I was so depressed that I set out to become human, completely human. Sometimes it was almost like there were two of me, one human, one andilite." 

She pulled me into her arms. "But something happened… I'm not sure what… but I wasn't completely trapped in human form. The genes for Andilite empathy, thoughtspeak, and eye color were the only things that demorphed. My human morph's eyes were originally brown, when I was trapped they became blue."

I leaned my head into her chest, and I let the tears come. "But… but what does that make me?" I asked. My voice was small, pitiful. 

"A miracle Max…" Mom sobbed, stroking my hair. "A miracle…" 

She paused, considering what to say further. "The Elemist offered to give me the power to morph back. I had hidden my DNA in a morph preservation device, as a female andilite morph. The Elemist had me acquire it." 

"I have an andilite morph too." I said with a smile, looking up at her. "I got it from that same device. Ax thought that the Elemist would have wanted me to acquire it." 

Mom jumped. "Then its time." She said softly. "Come on, we'll go meet Ax and Tobias early."

I stood up and followed Mom to the Escalade, my heart so incredibly full….


	27. An end and a beginning

The Generation Chapter 27- Tobias 

I flew over Ax's meadow that morning to watch with pride and joy, the four andilite figures below. Ax and Ezimili moved with grace. Judy had morphed andilite and was guiding Max through the morning ritual. I saw her eyes glowing with pride. 

_//From the water that gave birth to us_

_From the grass that feeds us_

_For the freedom that unites us_

_We rise to the stars…//_

I circled out of range and I saw the two groups moving through the woods. The first consisted of what looked like four humans, two hork bajir, two wolves, and a peregrine falcon. I knew, however, that they were the yeerk _nothlits_. Didlit would guide them into the mountains to where they'd join the free hork bajir colony and help them as guards and guides. 

The second group consisted of the new recruits. Steve, Gary, Dunga, and Eddy were carrying the cages with the birds of prey in them. Both groups were coming over to Ax's meadow for the meeting. 

//_I Max ____, aristh, offer my life…//_

I smiled, it must seem kind of dramatic to him. Tyson would have laughed. 

As both groups converged on the meadow, Max and Judy demorphed. I sailed down to the trees below and landed on my usual branch. //Hi! We're all clear!// I told them. 

"Right. You guys are here to acquire your first two morphs." Jake said with a nod. 

//It was unanimous then?// I asked. 

"You bet it is!" Joseph, Kevin, and Mariah chorused. 

"Right. Group by group, come up and place your hand on the blue box." Marco said, holding it up. 

This took about half an hour, not bad considering the sheer numbers…

"Right." Jake said calmly. "It took a lot of research to find morphs that would fit in your respective countries, but we think that we've found some; Golden Eagle and Peregrine Falcon are two morphs whose ranges are pretty much world wide, so you'll be picking from them. Red Tailed hawks come from America, so does the bald eagle that we're setting free today, so you All Starz will pretty much have your pick of the litter. Judy, I think you should pick a new morph. Cassie looked up your White Tailed Eagle. It's native to Siberia and Eurasia, not north America, and trust me, you'll be flying a LOT." Jake said with a smile. 

Judy nodded. "I can't wait to get flying again!" 

"But we only have the golden eagle and the bald eagle." Michael pointed out. 

"You can acquire a nothlit." Cassie allowed. "Didlit and Tobias are a Peregrine Falcon and a Red Tailed Hawk. That's also why the others are here, so you can acquire a wolf morph. Can you imagine having to lug the wolf's cage out here?" 

"You've got a point." Lee nodded. "Okay, who goes first?" 

"I will." Ozuma said calmly. "Ready guys?" He asked the Saint Shields. 

"We are!" Ozuma moved for the Golden Eagle. Dunga did the same. Miriam and Joseph both chose peregrine falcons. They finished that up by acquiring the wolf morph. 

"I'm next." Kane motioned his team forward. He and Selima chose the peregrine falcon. Jim and Gouki chose the Golden Eagle. They moved on to the other wolf-morphed yeerk. 

Lee went next. He and Mariah chose the golden eagle. Kevin and Gary chose the peregrine. The Majestics went next, with Robert and Johnny as eagles and Oliver and Enrique as falcons. After them came the Demolition Boys, Tala and Spencer became eagles. Bryan and Ian chose falcons. 

Finally it came to the All Starz. Michael stubbornly chose the Bald Eagle. Emily chose the falcon. Eddy chose the red tailed hawk. Steve chose the golden eagle, which Marco joked about being like giving a two year old a time bomb. Zeo and Wyatt chose falcons.  If they were normal birds of prey, it would have been my worst nightmare. I felt proud though. We took them up in teams and lead them in a circuit of landmarks. First we went to my meadow, then Ax's scoop, skirting his grazing grounds north to the Grotto. 

We arrived there group by group before morphing wolf and heading northeast towards the hork bajir valley with the morphed yeerks. We spread out over an area of ten miles, one blade breaker and one animorph per team until we came to the valley. 

"Okay, I'm going to warn you about the hork bajir." Jake said calmly as he addressed the rest of us. We were demorphed in front of the entrance. "They are normally very gentle. However, the yeerks use them as their shock troops for two reasons, they aren't very smart, and they have blades, enough to make the most powerful bitbeast you've seen look like a kitten." Jake explained. 

There was a collective shudder from those who had been down to the yeerk pool. I looked over the assembled groups. The captains all had similar stances, arms crossed over their chests, skeptical eyebrows, meaningful looks. Some of the smaller, more energetic bladers such as Kevin and Joseph were tapping their feet in impatience. I caught Emily giving Mariah's hand a reassuring squeeze. 

I giggled mentally, they reminded me of when we had first started, eager to please, nervous about making a mistake. 

"The hork bajir have the mentality of a four year old. They speak a sort of Pidgin English. However, they are very good-natured. They are willing to fight for their race's survival. Do not underestimate the will of the hork bajir. The yeerks did/do, but in spite of this they continue to harass and humiliate the yeerks. What does that tell you about them?" Jake asked rhetorically. 

Robert nodded. "My mother once told me that the size of the brain is no measure of its capacity." 

"Exactly." Jake said with a smile. "The hork bajir are pretty good people. The most often used word among them is friend. Since we are their friends, let us proceed." 

I sailed over the barrier and watched as one by one they filed through. I watched their eyes brighten as they saw the valley. 

I heard a noise, **_"twangangangvllaweee! Tumvlumblumtwanangweee!"_**

"What is that?" Selima asked. 

"Over there." Miriam inclined her head. Up in an enormous oak that had been stripped of leaves and extra branches was what looked like an enormous harp made of a bent branch and different widths of some kind of bark rope. 

"It looks kind of like a harp." Mariah said, craning her neck up to see it. 

"Sounds like a cello." Oliver blinked. 

"No, it's a code, see? They're all coming out of the woods, hundreds of them." Emily said with a smile. 

"It's a speaking tree," Said one of the morphed hork bajir. I think his name was Kiro. "They use it to communicate long distances." 

Toby and Saro made their way through the crowd of hork bajir. "You've brought them?" Toby asked. 

"Yes." Jake answered. "The nine yeerks were trapped on the way." He said with a smile. "They want to help you as watchmen/women and help fight." 

"We spoke on this before Jake. I told them about it. They don't mind, although some of them are skeptical." Toby explained. 

"What was the final count after last night?" Rachel asked. 

"Two hundred hork bajir, thirty leerans, over a thousand humans." Toby answered. "Of the hork bajir there was another seer. I have two lieutenants now." She said proudly. "The leerans are spending the water time that they need in the lake. They all agree that the ocean is too dangerous for them."  

Jake nodded. "I've got new teams too." He said smugly. "We're here to get them used to dealing with aliens." 

Toby chuckled. "Over thirty new Animorphs will definitely make a difference. Are you going to try and invade the yeerk pool again?" 

"No." Jake answered. "I don't think that we'll be able to train them in time, and Visser 3 will probably be down there for the rest of the time. We'll have to think of another first combat mission." 

"I know of one. There's a hork bajir breeding base that the yeerks use to breed new hork bajir hosts. They call host breeding bases biobases for short. Remember the hammerhead shark base? That was a biobase type two. This is type one, for breeding their alien hosts."

"Eeeww." Marco commented. "How do they do that? Intro? Yeerks falling in love? Eeewww!!" 

"Marco!" Cassie whacked him over the head. 

"And the first words out of Rachel's mouth will beeee…" Marco swung his arms in a circle and stopped them pointing at Rachel.

"LET'S DO IT!" 


	28. OWARI

The Generation Epilogue- Max 

My name is Max, Max Tate. I can say it now, because the war is drawing to a close. It's the final battle. I'm standing on the bridge with the Blade Breakers and the Animorphs. 

We couldn't find Tyson. Why? Because even though Jake and Kai expressly told him not to, he insisted on going on the suicide mission to capture the blade ship. 

Rachel's losing, and badly. She's destroyed or knocked out all but the polar bear and Tom himself in Cobra morph. //Tobias! Help!// She gasped, losing blood and feeling Tom's venom. 

I didn't want to look! I didn't want to look! But I had to, I had to watch the end! It was only right that I watch them, both of them in their last battle.

//I can't Rachel! I can't!// Tobias said desperately. 

//No… eyes…// Rachel gasped. 

//O..okay.// Tobias said faintly. //When I say so, grab left… NOW!//

Rachel caught Tom with superhuman reaction times. //NO! PLEASE! I BEG YOU!// 

//Sorry Tom.// Rachel said calmly. She bit Tom. 

There was a crack as Tom's neck broke. He died instantly. Rachel demorphed. "Good old bear…" She murmured, dazed. 

The polar bear moved in on her. He had her cornered. //You fight well human.// He raised his paw to strike. 

But the polar bear didn't notice the figure rising up from beneath a bulkhead. A shaggy, ten foot five, raging angry Kodiak bear. The Kodiak bear daintily tapped him on the shoulder. //So do you.// Tyson said calmly. I could picture him grinning in triumphant, unholy joy. 

He punched the bear through they eyes, pickaxe claws unsheathed. His claws drove into his brain, killing the controller instantly. 

Tyson demorphed and rushed to the helm. Rachel took up weapons. "Computer, Damage report!" 

"Controls have taken fifty six percent damage." The computer said with almost infuriating grace. 

"Right, Jake, I think I can get this crate out of here." Rachel told him. "It's all vocal right Visser?" She asked. 

Visser One nodded his head. //Yes. Amazing things you humans do.// He told Jake. //I would never have expected…//

He stopped at the look on Jake's face. "Tobias, Kai, Kenny, go get them at whatever bay they come in from and bring them here. Tyson you'd better hope that I'm calm by then because if the yeerks don't kill you first I will **_myself_**!" 

"Yes mother." Tyson said absently from his control panel. "Preparing to dock with the pool ship." 

"Right." Jake said calmly. "I need to go with Toby and see to the yeerk prisoners, when we get back I want to see one yeerk in a box and a ticked off andilite officer on screen." He left. 

Marco found a briefcase full of cookies. We ate the cookies and then, when Visser One left Alloran's body, we put him in the cookie/case.

All over the ship thoughtspeak reports were coming in. Tobias handled these. 

//Lee here, deck one is clear.//

//Michael calling in, I think I've found the cargo bays. There was a brief scuffle but we're alright in here.// 

//Tala here. We've got a situation in the infirmary. Bryan busted a wing, but I think we're okay.// 

//This is Robert. We've finished in engineering and are proceeding to deck one to meet up with the Tigers as planned.// 

//These are Ozuma and Kane. The pool is locked down, over!// 

//Zeo here. We've met up with Lee and Robert. We're going ahead sweep the decks.// 

//Kenny here. We've met up with Rachel and Tyson. We're bringing them to the bridge. What… what do we do with the… bodies from the ship?//

//Leave them for now Kenny. Get up here. We've got the bridge on lock down but we need help to keep it that way.// 

Marco and Alloran were busy trying to convince the officer of the day that we were not controllers. That was when my mother came running in, breathless. "Michael says that the infirmary is clear…" She began. "And who's this?" 

We introduced her to the officer of the day. //And you are?// He asked, miffed. 

"My human friends call me Judy Tate. You know me as Judin Olarn Sorath." Mom said with a smirk.

That stopped him cold. //I'll get the captain.//

//JUDIN!!??// Alloran gasped. 

"Alloran!" She cried, running to him and throwing her arms around him. The two of them did a little happy dance.

//JUDIN YOU MADE IT!// Alloran cried. //IT WAS YOU THE WHOLE TIME! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO THWARTED THEM IN NEW YORK!!!// He said accusingly. 

"Of course, NYC is my town, no way I was gonna let it fall to a bunch of slugs!" 

The captain's arrival on screen interrupted their happy reunion. His name was Asculan. //This had better not be a yeerk trick.// He said, annoyed. 

Mom and Alloran conferred for a moment. Then Alloran stepped forward. //Captain, Visser One has surrendered. We will bring the pool ship to any point you name. We will deploy bugfighters and exactly five Earth minutes after we arrive, we will detonate them. After that we will allow you to board. Judy is currently remote deactivating the blade ship, which was captured by human guerillas approximately thirty Earth minutes ago.// 

That was when Jake came in. "Where do we stand." 

A short argument followed. We almost lost it until Marco said, feigning stupidity. "Hey Jake! Is it true that everybody on the Andilite home world can see us? Cool! Howard Stern rules everybody!"

We all facefaulted. The andilite turned several shades that I was sure weren't natural skin tones for his species. After another brief argument, which Jake won, a place and time was agreed upon. That was when the captain asked, staring at my mother with awe.

//And who is this human Judy?// He asked. //Is it true that she is THE Judin?//

"Yes." Mom said with a wane smile. "Captain Asculan, I am Judin Olarn Sorath. I have been trapped in human morph for fourteen years, following a fire at the human landmark known as Balkov Abbey. Through a series of serendipitous events I regained my power to morph. Having preserved my DNA in the morph preservation device in my damaged fighter, I gained a morph of my old andilite body, as it was five earth years after my fighter crashed on Earth." 

//And your report Judin?// 

"Upon recovering the escafil device remaining on Earth after the crash of Elfangor's fighter, the leader of the yeerk resistance on Earth, Jake Berenson expanded the resistance by bringing in teams from a game that I and three of my human friends created. The game is called Beyblades. Teams of fours and fives battle gyroscopic tops and try to knock the enemy from the ring. These teams knew each other and had already proved themselves. In doing so, and using additional morph cubes which he'd found in the ruins where I'd hid my fighter he expanded the resistance planet wide." 

Captain Asculan was grave again. //And you had no part in this?//

"I vowed my services to Prince Jake. There was no way that I could question him." Mom said calmly. "Captain Asculan, I'd like to introduce you to my son, Max and my nephew Tobias son of Elfangor, who was trapped in morph, but who like me, regained the ability to morph into his old form." 

I flushed several unnatural shades of my own. "Hello." I said shyly. 

//Hi.// Tobias said, embarrassed. 

"For the past year I have been teaching him the ways of the people. I would like, Asculan, permission to bring my nephew, my son and his team to the homeworld for a few months. I want him to meet his grandparents. His education would need to be complete. Nobody ever knows everything. I hope to keep going, to keep learning…"

//Now that is one condition, War Princess 'Berserker' Judin Olarn Sorath, that I can grant you.//

**_~OWARI~_**


End file.
